CHRISTIAN    BIOGRAPHIES 


BY 


H.    L.   SIDNEY   LEAR 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN,  ETC. 


CHRISTIAN    BIOGRAPHIES 

BY 
H.  L.  SIDNEY  LEAR 

New  and  Uniform  Editions.     Crown  8vo.     3*.  6d.  each. 

Madame  Louise  de  France,  Daughter  of  Louis  XV., 
known  also  as  the  MOTHER  TERESE  DE  S.  AUGUSTIN. 

A  Dominican  Artist ;  a  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  the 
REV.  PERE  BESSON,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic. 

Henri  Perrey  ve.  By  A.  GRATRY,  Pretre  de  1'Oratoire, 

Professeur  de  Morale  Evangelique  a  la  Sorbonne,  et  Membre 
de  1' Academic  Fran9aise.  Translated,  by  special  permission. 
With  Portrait. 

S.  Francis  de  Sales,  Bishop  and  Prince  of  Geneva. 

The  Revival  of  Priestly  Life  in  the  Seven- 
teenth Century  in  France.  CHARLES  DE  CONDREN — S. 
PHILIP  NERI  and  CARDINAL  DE  BERULLE— S.  VINCENT 
DE  PAUL— SAINT  SULPICE  and  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER. 

A  Christian  Painter  of  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury ;  being  the  life  of  HIPPOLYTE  FLANDRIN. 

Bossuet  and  his  Contemporaries. 
Fe*nelon,  Archbishop  of  Cambrai. 
Henri  Dominique  Lacordaire.    A  Biographical 

Sketch.     With  Frontispiece. 


LONGMANS,    GREEN    AND    CO. 
LONDON,  NEW  YORK,  AND  BOMBAY 


THE 

of  &rfe*tl    2Ufe 


IN   THE 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 
IN    FRANCE 


BY 


H.    L.    SIDNEY    LEAR 
1  1 

AUTHOR  OF  '  A  DOMINICAN  ARTIST,'    '  LIFE  OF  S.  FRANCIS  DE  SALES' 
ETC.   ETC. 


NEW  IMPRESSION 


LONGMANS,     GREEN,     AND    CO. 

39    PATERNOSTER    ROW,    LONDON 

NEW  YORK  AND  BOMBAY 

1903 


TO 


3lo{m 


CHANCELLOR  OF  SARUM  CATHEDRAL 
AMD  PRINCIPAL  OF  HER  THEOLOGICAL  COLLEGE 

WHOSE  LIFE  IS  DEVOTJF.U 
TO   THE  SUBJECT  OF  THIS  LITTLE   BOOK 

IN   ENGLAND 

FT  IS   DEDICATED 

WITH  THE  WARMEST  AFFECTION 

AND  GRATITUDE 


Preface 

*T"^HE  following  pages  must  only  be  read 
from  the  point  of  view  from  which  they 
were  written — i.e.  as  a  mere  sketch  of  one  part 
of  a  very  important  period  of  Church  history. 
They  do  not  in  the  smallest  degree  affect  to 
comprehend  the  great  subject  placed  at  their 
head ;  enough  if  they  should  lead  people  to  read 
and  study  for  themselves  some  parts  of  a  mine 
of  information  not  readily  exhausted.  But  per- 
haps in  these  days,  when,  so  many  hearts  are 
depressed  by  a  keen  sense  of  the  evils  surround- 
ing Christ's  Church  in  the  various  shapes  of  un- 
belief, misbelief ; — and  imperfect  practice, — even 
where  theoretically  belief  may  be  sound, — some 
consolation  may  be  gained  from  seeing  how  the 
like  clouds  hung  darkly  over  their  forefathers, 


viii  PREFACE. 


and  out  of  what  abuses  and  corruptions  God 
has  not  failed  to  bring  His  Church.  Thank 
God  that  each  carefully  studied  page  of  history 
does  but  confirm  us  in  our  strong  unfailing  trust 
in  His  unfailing  Promise,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you 
always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

We  are  all  fast  hastening  on  to  the  individual 
end  of  each,  as  far  as  this  life  goes.  May  His 
Grace  enable  us  to  be  faithful  in  our  respective 
callings,  to  give  up  all  for  His  Sake  joyfully,  to 
fear  no  evil,  certain  that  His  Arm  is  round  us, 
His  Right  Hand  succouring  us. 

"  And  then  it  shall  be  said  in  that  Day,  Lo ! 
this  is  our  God,  we  have  waited  for  Him,  and 
He  will  save  us :  we  have  waited  for  Him,  we 
will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in  His  Salvation." — Isa. 
xxv.  9. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  1 

CHARLES  DE  CONDREX ...<,v*, i 

CHAPTER  IL 
S.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  CARDINAL  UE  BERULLE wt...    31 

CHAPTER  III. 
DE  CONDREN'S  INNER  LIFE  AND  LETTERS, 51 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM 157 

CHAPTER  V. 
S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS 213 

CHAPTER  VI. 
SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER  252 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PRESENT  TIMES  305 

a  2 


PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHARLES   DE   CONDREN. 

A  TIME  of  great  darkness  is  generally  also  a  time  in 
which  some  great  and  dazzling  light  is  seen ; 
the  stars  never  shine  so  brightly  as  in  the  darkest  sky; 
and  when  the  heaviest  clouds  of  negligence  or  profli- 
gacy have  lowered  with  the  most  seemingly  hopeless 
density  over  God's  Church,  He  has  ever  vouchsafed  to 
cause  His  rainbow  to  appear,  telling  those  whose 
hearts  are  well  nigh  failing  for  fear  "  that  there  is  light 
in  Heaven."  So  it  was  in  the  particular  period  of 
French  Church  History  here  touched  upon.  The  sky 
was  dark  with  clouds  of  unbelief,  ignorance,  neglect, 
sensuality,  and  avarice,  enough  to  scare  the  bravest 
heart;  and  yet  through  it  all  there  bursts  upon  our  sight 
a  galaxy  of  light  which  casts  its  brightness  over  the 
Church  to  this  day,  and  will  cast  it  so  long  as  history 
endures. 

A 


•»•    •••••>*•«    •     '••        •    •  *  •    •    • 

2  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Some  names,  known  and  loved  wherever  true  hearts 
beat  with  love  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  will  readily 
occur  to  every  one's  mind  in  thinking  of  that  period, 
but  amid  the  "bright  particular  stars"  which  shine 
forth  so  gloriously  in  the  Church  of  the  latter  part  of 
the  sixteenth  and  earlier  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
turies, the  name  of  Charles  de  Condren  is  probably 
unknown  to  many  who  are  familiar  with  those  house- 
hold objects  of  love  and  veneration,  S.  Francis  de  Sales, 
S.  Vincent  de  Paul,  or  even  with  the  scarcely  less 
revered  names  of  Cardinal  du  Perron,  Cardinal  de 
Berulle,  and  M.  Olier.  This  is  as  he  himself,  the 
Pere  de  Condren,  would  have  wished;  for  the  one 
most  striking  characteristic  of  his  singularly  holy  life 
was  its  intense  humility — the  real  desire  to  "  efface" 
himself — to  penetrate  his  whole  existence  with  the 
spirit  of  S.  Paul's  words,  "  Not  I,  but  Christ  in  me." 

"  Would  have  wished  "  may  be  said  advisedly;  for 
who  can  for  a  moment  doubt  that  when  the  mortal 
puts  on  immortality,  when  the  flesh  ceases  to  cumber 
the  spirit  with  its  weakness,  when  every  motion  of  sin, 
of  pride,  or  self-consciousness  has  fallen  before  that 
Light  in  which  the  freed  soui  sees  light  for  ever,  there 
can  be  but  one  desire  even  in  the  humblest  heart,  i.e. 
that  God  may  be  glorified ;  and  if  His  Glory  can  be 
promoted  by  setting  forth  how  His  upholding  Grace 
was  vouchsafed  to  any  of  His  children  here  on  earth. 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN. 


so  as  to  bring  them  nearer  than  is  common  to  our  Dear 
Lord's  Likeness,  would  they  not  now  joyfully  assent  to 
any  such  manifestation,  re-echoing  the  cry,  "Not  unto 
us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  to  Thy  Name  give  the 
glory!" 

Lowly  as  he  was,  marvellous  in  his  gift  of  humility, 
and  veritably  counting  himself  all  unworthy  of  any 
place  among  those  who  have  done  good  service  to  the 
Church,  Pere  de  Condren  can  scarcely  be  overlooked 
by  those  who  study  the  history  of  the  Church  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  Foremost  themselves  in  the  re- 
vival of  a  higher  tone  among  the  clergy  of  France,  the 
Oratorians  were  so  distinctly  the  progenitors  of  those 
great  works  which — as  so  often  occurs  in  the  order  of 
God's  Providence — subsequently  overshadowed  their 
source,  that,  while  acknowledging  the  services  of  the 
Lazarists  and  Saint  Sulpiciens,  these  latter  must  be 
traced  backward  to  the  Oratory;  and,  though  not  the 
founder  of  that  Congregation,  few  members  had  so 
important  a  share  in  shaping  and  directing  its  course 
as  de  Condren.  The  Director  of  Cardinal  de  Be'rulle 
and  of  Jean  Jacques  Olier — whose  great  work  as  foun- 
der of  the  Seminary  of  Saint  Sulpice  was  mainly  de 
Condren's  doing — left  no  slight  stamp  on  his  times,  to 
say  nothing  of  his  influence  upon  the  King  of  France 
(Louis  XIII.)  and  his  unruly  brother  Gaston 
d'Orleans,  or  what  he  did  as  Superior  of  the  Oratory. 


PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


Yet  all  the  while,  as  the  image  of  Charles  de  Condren 
rises  before  one,  it  is  still  more  as  the  saintly  Priest, 
whose  whole  life  was  spent  in  seeking  to  imitate  the 
Example  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  than  as  the  able  ecclesi- 
astic, or  wise  director,  or  active  superior.  There  is  a 
singular  sense  of  repose  as  we  dwell  upon  his  history; 
the  turmoil  of  Church  politics — certainly  not  less 
stirring  then  than  now — the  manifold  engrossments 
and  occupations  of  his  office,  literary,  spiritual  and 
administrative,  never  seem  to  disturb  the  calm  stead- 
fast bent  of  his  soul,  or  that  clear  current  of  his  life 
which  swept  onward  like  a  deep  river  towards  the  sea, 
straight  for  Paradise.  There  is  none  of  that  restless 
hurry  and  scattering  of  power  to  be  traced  in  de 
Condren's  life,  which  led  one  of  his  noblest  descen- 
dants— the  modern  restorer  of  the  Oratory,  Pere 
Gratry — to  write :  "  The  world  moves  on  with  ever- 
increasing  rapidity,  movement  becomes  intensified  in 
every  shape,  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical;  and 
beneath  this  surface  movement  I  fear  one  discovers 
that  there  is  a  slackening  of  central  impetus — we  whirl 
about  more,  but  we  advance  less.  ...  It  is  a  univer- 
sal blot,  every  living  thing  finds  the  difficulty  of  self- 
recollection,  of  gathering  itself  together,  and  abiding 
steadfast  at  the  heart's  core.  ...  It  is  the  degenerarc 
tamen  of  Virgil;  it  is  that  which  S.  Bernard  has  called 
"  evisceratio  mentis,"  the  disembowelling  of  the  soul. 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN. 


.  .  .  Life  hurries  on,  spreads  itself  far  and  wide,  but 
the  source  of  life  dries  up.  ...  In  days  of  old  there 
were  men  whose  whole  life  was  absorbed  in  their  great 
Centre — God;  and  who  found  peace,  light  and  happi- 
ness therein.  To  them  it  furnished  the  motive  power, 
the  life  of  all  things.  But  in  these  days  where  shall  we 
find  such  calm,  deep  minds,  dwelling  in  the  Invisible, 
and  rapt  in  heavenly  things,  ever  facing  eastwards 
amid  the  whirl  of  life?  ...  All  our  strength  [as 
priests]  lies  in  prayer  and  faith,  nourished  in  our  souls 
by  recollection  and  retirement,  by  the  habit  of  that 
interior  life  which  alone  fosters  holiness,  light  and 
love.  We  shall  never  become  useful  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  by  multiplying  our  surface  efforts,  or  by 
accumulating  good  works;  that  can  only  be  done 
through  the  mighty  power  of  a  humble  heart  which 
leans  on  God,  of  a  thoughtful  soul  which  drinks  deep 
of  Him."1 

Pere  Gratry  might  well  have  had  his  predecessor's 
life  in  mind  as  he  wrote  these  words, — for  if  ever  a 
man's  good  service  sprang  from  that  mighty  power, 
"  a  humble  heart  which  leans  on  God,  and  a  thought- 
ful soul  which  drinks  deep  of  Him,"  it  was  his  of 
whom  it  has  been  written, — "He  was  a  very  marvel  in 
his  detachment  from  creatures  and  his  union  with 
God.  His  great  freedom  from  creature  engrossments 
1  Life  of  H.  Perreyve,  p.  173. 


PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


left  a  clear  space  for  the  workings  of  Divine  Light, 
and  he  was  filled  to  overflowing  with  its  brightness."1 

Charles  de  Condren  was  born  December  15,  1588, 
at  the  Chateau  de  Vauxbuin,  near  Soissons.  His  father 
— a  soldier — held  a  good  position  at  the  Court  of 
Henri  IV.,  and  the  test  and  standard  of  merit  in  his  eyes 
was  military  capacity,  physical  courage  and  endurance. 
Apparently  Madame  de  Condren's  horizon  was  less 
limited ;  for  before  her  child's  birth,  and  on  his  first 
entrance  into  the  world,  she  offered  him  specially  to 
God — an  offering  upon  which  the  future  Oratorian 
looked  back  gratefully  as  having  influenced  his  future 
career  in  no  small  degree. 

"I  had  the  blessing,"  he  wrote,  "of  being  dedicated 
from  my  birth  to  God,  like  the  first-born  of  the  Children 
of  Israel,  but  I  had  an  advantage  over  them  in  that 
the  law  of  substitution  has  ceased  to  be,  and  I  am  not 
exempt  from  myself  fulfilling  the  conditions  of  my 
dedication.  ...  I  thank  God  for  this, — I  do  not 
covet  a  dispensation — I  am  only  too  happy  to  serve 
perpetually  in  the  Temple  of  God."  But  the  soldier- 
father  had  no  intention  of  making  a  Levite  of  his 
boy ;  and,  lest  nursery  caresses  and  influences 
should  enervate  his  first  formed  character,  the  baby 
was  taken  from  women's  care  for  all  save  that  which 
rougher  handling  scarce  could  afford ;  and,  while  still 

»  iiuudon. 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN. 


in  arms,  he  was  carried  about  by  one  of  his  father's 
soldiers,  who  amused  Charles  with  warlike  play, 
made  military  songs  his  lullaby,  and  taught  him  to 
look  upon  drums  and  trumpets,  swords  and  harque- 
busses,  as  natural  toys.  As  soon  as  the  boy  could 
walk  he  was  dressed  in  miniature  uniform,  and  sup- 
plied with  tiny  weapons  of  war.  No  wonder  that  the 
military  tendency  thus  early  developed  clung  to  de 
Condren  through  life,  so  that  to  the  end,  through  all 
his  years  of  self-devotion  in  a  very  different  service,  it 
was  still  hot  within  him ;  and  he  would  smile  some- 
times at  his  own  soldier-like  nature.  One  or  two 
childish  feats  of  courage  and  prowess,  still  recorded, 
gave  intense  delight  to  his  father;  all  the  more 
that  one  in  which,  by  a  deftly  dealt  blow,  Charles 
parried  the  onslaught  of  a  buffalo  in  the  Pare  de 
Monceau,  was  witnessed  by  Henri  IV.,  and  the  King 
was  not  chary  of  his  notice  and  praise. 

However,  M.  de  Condren  had  the  wisdom  not  to  con- 
fine his  son's  education  to  strictly  military  matters  ;  and 
the  natural  gift  of  a  remarkably  powerful  memory,  so 
that  he  could  repeat  even  difficult  things  by  heart  after 
once  reading  them — and  alluding  to  which  he  once 
said  that  he  "  thought  he  had  never  forgotten  any- 
thing since  he  was  eighteen  months  old  " — made  his 
progress  rapid  and  easy.  Only  one  thing — more 
necessary  perhaps  for  a  gentleman's  complete 


PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


education  then  than  now — young  de  Condren  could 
not  learn — the  art  of  dancing.  He  was  always  taken 
ill  when  this  process  was  attempted  !  and  later  on, 
when  constrained  by  his  father  to  take  part  in  Court 
entertainments,  the  same  result  invariably  occurred. 
The  future  ascetic  was  also  foretold  in  his  childish 
displeasure  with  a  very  pretty  portrait  which  had  been 
taken  of  him.  Conscious  of  the  danger  of  vanity,  he 
assaulted  the  picture  privately  with  a  big  stick,  but 
unfortunately  found  it  altogether  beyond  the  reach  of 
his  small  arm;  whereupon,  true  to  his  military  training, 
Charles  watched  his  opportunity,  and  contriving  to 
shut  himself  into  the  room  where  the  offending  picture 
hung,  with  some  arrows  he  shot  at  the  impromptu 
target  till  it  was  satisfactorily  defaced  !  Besides  these 
traits  little  concerning  de  Condren's  childhood  is  on 
record,  save  his  strict  truthfulness  and  accuracy. 
His  tutor,  M.  le  Masson,  a  Canon  of  Soissons,  bears 
testimony  to  the  purity  of  his  childish  life,  and  adds 
that  his  ability  and  orderly  ways  made  it  pleasant 
to  teach  him. 

It  was  an  understood  thing  in  the  family  that 
Charles  was  to  be  a  soldier,  and  when  at  about  the  age 
of  twelve  he  began  to  feel  a  powerful  drawing  to  a 
different  career,  he  foresaw  that  any  change  of 
vocation  would  be  unacceptable  to  his  father.  Never- 
theless a  stronger  power  than  the  boy  could  resist  led 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN. 


him  on ; — the  Love  of  God  grew  warm  in  his  heart, 
and  with  that  the  spirit  of  sacrifice,  which  hence- 
forward coloured  his  whole  life  so  deeply,  took 
possession  of  him.  Already  he  grasped  the  great 
doctrine  of  our  Dear  Lord's  One  Perfect  Sacrifice ; 
and  out  of  that  grew  an  intense  desire  to  unite  him- 
self to  It  in  dying  daily ;  and  this  he  conceived  he 
could  best  do  as  a  priest,  although  his  high  estimate 
of  the  dignity  of  that  calling  and  his  own  unworthiness 
thereof  became  continually  more  marked.  Accord- 
ing to  his  own  account,  a  clear  voice  resounded 
within  him,  "  I  will  that  thou  be  a  Priest  to  serve 
Me  and  My  Church ; "  and  he  then  and  there  pros- 
trating himself,  offered  his  future  life  to  God,  and 
never  henceforward  felt  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the 
course  which  lay  before  him.  Consequently  hence- 
forth, while  studying  diligently,  he  looked  upon  all  his 
secular  studies  as  only  so  many  means  of  preparing 
himself  to  serve  God  better,  and  the  talents,  which  he 
could  not  but  recognise  in  himself,  as  gifts  to  be  used 
for  His  Glory.  M.  de  Condren  removed  his  son  after 
a  time  from  school,  wishing  him  to  study  at  home, 
and  then  the  ease  and  rapidity  with  which  he  learnt 
(he  is  said  to  have  mastered  the  science  of  mathe- 
matics in  the  most  wonderful  fashion)  enabled  him 
secretly  to  devote  his  leisure  to  theological  studies. 
Sometimes  he  went  out  professedly  shooting,  but  as 


io  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


soon  as  he  was  well  away  in  the  woods,  and  some  pre- 
sentable bag  made  to  avoid  exciting  suspicion,  the 
young  sportsman  laid  aside  his  gun,  and  a  volume  of 
the  Fathers  (S.  Augustine  was  his  favourite  author)  or 
the  Summa  of  S.  Thomas  Aquinas  was  drawn  forth, 
and  the  rest  of  his  day  was  spent  in  study.  He  had 
another  ingenious  device  to  the  same  end.  With  the 
connivance  of  his  own  personal  attendant,  a  German 
valet,  who  would  do  anything  his  master  wished,  and 
who  undertook  never  to  let  any  one  save  himself 
make  Charles's  bed,  young  de  Condren  cut  away  a 
hollow  place  in  his  mattress,  and  kept  his  theological 
books,  the  sight  of  which  would  have  given  sore 
offence  to  his  father,  therein,  gladly  cutting  short  his 
hours  of  sleep  on  behalf  of  this  chosen  study.  It 
must  have  been  rather  difficult  to  work  hard  and  pray 
much  in  that  bustling  cheerful  family  house,  always 
full  of  company,  and  with  constant  interruptions  from 
Court  gaieties  and  the  like.  But  from  the  time  that 
Charles  left  school  he  made  recollection  and  advance 
in  the  spiritual  life  his  great  aim,  and  while  so  doing 
he  learnt  to  offer  the  very  interruptions  which  other- 
wise would  have  fretted  him  to  God,  and  thus  by 
patience  turned  them  to  his  soul's  profit  instead  of 
hindrance.  His  sister  accidentally  took  up  a  sheet  of 
paper  some  time  later,  which  contained  his  general 
confession  for  the  two  years  and  a  half  elapsed  since 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  n 

he  came  home  from  school,  and  though  on  seeing 
what  it  contained  she  immediately  put  it  down;  her 
passing  glance  shewed  her  that  the  first  point  of  her 
brother's  self-examination  was  recollection  of  the 
Presence  of  God,  and  that  he  must  have  been  able 
to  preserve  this  in  a  very  marked  and  unusual 
manner. 

But  this  sort  of  thing  was  not  at  all  what  M.  de 
Condren  desired.  His  ambition  that  his  son  might 
win  military  renown  had  by  no  means  decreased,  and 
as  soon  as  Charles's  studies  were  considered  to  be 
finished,  the  old  soldier  prepared  to  send  him  to  join 
the  army  either  at  Calais,  where  Devic  was  in  com- 
mand, under  whom  Henri  IV.  had  expressed  a  wish 
that  his  young  protdgd  should  serve ;  or  in  Holland, 
which  was  supposed  just  then  to  be  the  best  school  of 
military  discipline.  It  was  a  time  of  sore  struggle  to 
the  young  man,  for  notwithstanding  his  strong  draw- 
ings to  the  priesthood,  and  his  firm  belief  that  it  was 
his  vocation,  he  had  no  slight  inclination  for  the  army; 
and  his  own  natural  tastes,  developed  as  they  had  been 
by  early  training,  quite  fell  in  with  the  course  which 
respect  for  his  father's  wishes  prompted  him  to  take. 

It  was  a  question  only  to  be  solved  by  much 
prayer,  and  in  that,  accompanied  by  fasting,  de 
Condren  sought  for  light  as  to  his  real  and  highest 
duty.  His  father  saw  that  there  were  breakers  a-head. 


12  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

and  with  kindly  consideration  he  called  in  the  assistance 
of  a  relation,  M.  de  Briqueville,  Chevalier  de  Malte, 
whose  personal  piety  gave  him  a  certain  weight  with 
Charles.  This  gentleman  did  not  fail  to  urge  upon 
his  young  cousin  the  paramount  duty  of  obedience  to 
his  father,  as  well  as  the  probable  displeasure  of  the 
King  if  his  wishes  were  lightly  set  aside.  De  Condren 
assented  to  all  this,  and  moreover  he  frankly  admitted 
that  he  had  a  passionate  delight  in  the  calling  now 
urged  upon  him.  He  did  not  refuse  active  service, 
only  asking  that  he  might  be  sent  to  Hungary  to  fight 
against  the  Turks,  rather  than  to  Holland  or  Calais, 
and  adding,  "  Nevertheless,  if  I  had  my  choice,  I  would 
do  neither,  for  my  one  sole  ambition  is  to  serve  God 
in  His  Church." 

M.  de  Condren  was  greatly  irritated  when  de 
Briqueville  reported  his  son's  views,  and  for  a  time  he 
even  refused  to  see  Charles,  accusing  him  of  cowardice 
and  bigotry.  Those  were  trying  days,  and  the  issue 
seemed  doubtful,  when  an  unexpected  solution  to  the 
difficulty  was  sent,  in  the  order  of  God's  Providence,  in 
the  shape  of  a  severe  illness,  which  ran  its  course  so 
fiercely  that  before  long  the  doctors  pronounced 
the  case  hopeless.  Charles  had  already  thoroughly 
grasped  the  spirit  of  sacrifice,  which  was  later  on  so 
marked  a  feature  of  his  character;  and  seen  from  that 
point  of  view,  he  was  ready  to  accept  life  or  death,  as 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  13 

it  pleased  his  Master  to  appoint.  But  when  he  heard 
his  father's  bitter  lamentations,  and  his  appeal  to  God 
to  spare  his  child,  there  came  upon  him  a  strong  im- 
pulse, which  he  obeyed,  beseeching  M.  de  Condren  to 
make  a  willing  sacrifice,  and  adding  that  possibly,  if  he 
were  to  offer  his  son  willingly  to  the  priesthood,  God 
might  yet  see  fit  to  raise  him  up  to  health. 

Greatly  touched  at  this,  which  to  all  appearance  was 
a  dying  request,  the  old  man  out  of  the  abundance  of 
his  heart  offered  his  child  freely,  adding,  "  Since  the 
very  thought  of  our  earthly  court  kills  him,  perhaps 
the  promise  of  the  Heavenly  Courts  may  revive  him;" 
and  from  that  moment  he  became  as  full  of  hope  as 
he  had  been  of  despair. 

The  father's  hopes  were  fulfilled,  and  Charles  re- 
covered ;  but  for  fear  his  changed  prospects  should  be 
forgotten  with  his  changed  condition,  he  insisted  on 
putting  on  a  cassock  the  first  time  he  left  his  bed, 
and  henceforth  there  was  no  further  question  as  to  his 
destination  in  life.  Having  once  conceded  the  point, 
M.  de  Condren  was  anxious  to  promote  his  son's  views 
heartily,  and  made  no  difficulty  about  sending  him  to 
study  at  the  Sorbonne,  where  Charles  was  the  pupil  of 
Philippe  de  Gamache  and  Duval,  under  whom  he 
speedily  distinguished  himself. 

His  natural  ability  made  his  work  comparatively 
easy,  and  much  time  was  spent  by  the  young  student 


14  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

in  prayer,  so  that  he  was  looked  upon  with  great  re- 
spect, and  some  little  awe,  by  his  companions,  who 
notwithstanding  found  plenty  to  admire  in  his  intel- 
lectual and  physical  capabilities.  Always  subject  to 
severe  illness,  de  Condren  was  again  attacked  by  a 
one-and-twenty  day  fever  while  studying  at  the  Sor- 
bonne,  A.D.  1609,  and  when  the  crisis  came  he  was  so 
reduced  that  the  last  Sacraments  were  administered  to 
him  by  the  Abbd  Hubert,  afterwards  Archbishop  of 
Bourges.  He  was  supposed  to  be  in  the  last  agony, 
when  de  Gamache,  meeting  his  class  as  usual,  felt  so 
absorbed  in  the  condition  of  his  favourite  pupil,  that 
instead  of  the  intended  lecture,  he  could  only  speak 
of  the  dying  youth,  on  whose  earnest  life  and  stedfast 
preparation  for  death  he  dwelt  lovingly;  and  as  he 
himself  and  his  listeners  waxed  warmer  and  more  full 
of  regrets,  he  entreated  all  to  lift  up  their  hearts  to 
God,  if  it  might  be  that  He  would  yet  restore  de 
Condren.  Together  with  their  professor  the  whole 
class  knelt  in  prayer — and  it  was  granted — the  longed- 
for  turn  in  the  malady  came,  and  once  more  de  Con- 
dren turned  back  to  life  from  the  very  edge  of  the 
grave. 

According  to  the  rule  of  the  Sorbonne,  when  de  Con- 
dren had  completed  his  course  of  theology,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three,  he  was  sent  as  professor  of  philosophy 
to  the  University  of  Paris,  and  he  applied  all  his  energies 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  15 

to  fulfilling  the  task  well.  He  began  by  carefully 
writing  all  his  lectures,  but  the  ill  health  which  became 
increasingly  his  lot,  hindered  this  greatly,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  give  up  the  habit  and  often  to  trust  to  his 
memory  as  sole  preparation ;  but  notwithstanding  he 
continued  to  distinguish  himself  by  the  ability  with 
which  he  lectured.1 

A  prayer  was  found  which  he  had  written  for  him- 
self to  be  used  habitually  before  entering  his  class- 
room, in  which  he  asks  light  and  knowledge  of  God, 
to  enable  him  to  impart  them  to  others,  ending 
with  these  words,  "Shed  out  Thy  Light  upon  Thy 
children  through  me,  but  may  they  never  impute  to  me 
the  light,  the  truth,  or  any  other  gifts  which  are  solely 
Thine  ;  may  they  ever  keep  Thee  in  Sight  as  the  One 

1  Habitually  de  Condren  looked  to  God  for  the  words  he 
should  say  or  write  for  the  benefit  of  others.  Thus  we  find  him 
writing  to  a  certain  M.  de  Silleri,  who  had  asked  him  for 
spiritual  instructions  :  "  I  have  set  myself  to  write  several  times. 
I  have  offered  your  intention  to  God,  and  told  Him  how  bound 
I  feel  to  help  you,  and  have  besought  grace  to  do  so,  very 
earnestly  for  several  days,  but  so  far  He  has  not  been  pleased  to 
vouchsafe  me  anything  to  say  to  you.  '  We  had  the  sentence  of 
death  in  ourselves,  that  we  should  not  trust  in  ourselves,  but  in 
God  which  raiseth  the  dead '  (2  Cor.  i.  9).  I  may  well  apply  the 
Apostle's  words  to  myself,  for  I  have  found  nought  in  my  own 
mind  save  a  great  void,  and  the  sentence  of  death.  .  .  I  need 
not  marvel  that  I  can  do  nothing  without  Christ,  since  it  is  my 
duty  to  desire  nothing  save  His  Will,  but  I  must  humble  myself 
because  I  cannot  always  find  that  strength  I  need  in  Him." 
— Letters,  No.  Ixxiv.  p.  273,  edit.  Pin. 


1 6  PRIESTLY  LIFE  TN  FRANCE. 

Only  Principle  of  all  truth,  and  help  me  always  to  ac- 
knowledge Thy  Light,  and  my  own  profound  darkness." 
There  were  certain  rules  which  de  Condren  made 
for  himself  in  this  new  phase  of  life,  one  of  which 
was  to  watch  carefully  over  his  eyes,  and  not  let 
them  habitually  wander,  and  so  form  an  unrecol- 
lected  habit  of  mind.  On  arriving  at  the  door  of  his 
lecture-room,  he  used  to  pause  an  instant  in  ejacu- 
latory  prayer,  and  then  making  the  sign  of  the 
Cross,  he  began  his  work  as  in  God's  Sight.  He  was 
on  the  watch  for  passing  movements  of  self-satisfaction, 
vanity  or  speculative  tendency  as  he  taught,  diligently 
checking  them ;  and  one  special  point  in  his  self-ex- 
amination had  reference  to  the  inner  spirit  as  well  as 
the  outer  way  in  which  his  lecture  had  been  delivered 
Already  de  Condren  had  subjected  his  daily  life  to  a 
carefully  studied  rule,  in  which  the  examination  of 
conscience  filled  an  important  place.  Taking  our 
Saviour's  words — "  Without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing  " 
— as  a  guide,  he  examined  himself  as  to  whether  he 
had  striven  to  fulfil  every  duty  in  Christ's  Strength ; 
how  far  he  had  given  good  heed  to  the  whispered  in- 
spirations of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  whether  he  had  given 
way  to  his  natural  impulses,  or  if  self-love  had  in  any- 
thing prevailed  over  the  Love  of  God;  whether  friend- 
ship or  complaisance  had  induced  him  to  lose  sight  of 
his  first  duty  to  God ;  whether  he  had  resisted  God's 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  17 

Holy  Will,  or  been  relaxed  and  cold  in  devotions,  or 
in  his  highest  aim  after  a  holy  life  ?  All  these  points 
were  duly  weighed,  his  omissions  confessed  with  con- 
trition, and  a  fresh  dedication  of  his  whole  being 
made  to  God.  He  was  wont,  later  on,  to  recommend 
those  who  are  striving  after  the  hidden  life  to  make 
a  brief  self-examination  three  times  a  day,  namely, 
in  the  morning — looking  forward  to  the  duties  of 
the  coming  hours,  and  back  upon  the  faults  of 
the  day  past,  so  as  to  guard  against  their  renewal, 
and  specially  consecrating  all  the  little  details  of  life 
to  God  : — and  at  noon  and  evening  reviewing  the 
past  in  the  same  spirit  with  which  Bishop  Andrewes 
says,  "  Evening  is  come ;  the  evening  of  life  is  old 
age." 

He  sought  to  lie  down  to  sleep,  making  an  act  of 
dying  to  the  things  of  this  life,  and  surrendering  his 
body,  soul  and  spirit  to  God  during  the  season  of 
helplessness,  uniting  his  own  natural  rest  in  intention 
with  the  Rest  of  God  and  His  Saints.  His  first  wak- 
ing act  was  to  be  one  of  self-oblation  ; — himself,  every 
faculty  and  action,  offered  absolutely  in  union  with 
God's  Will.  All  through  life  de  Condren  looked  upon 
the  first  thoughts  in  waking  as  a  most  important  point 
of  self-watchfulness. 

"  Members  of  the  Incarnate  Word,"  (he  wrote  to 
a  priest  under  his  guidance,)  "  and  pledged  to  live  in 


i8  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Him  Alone,  we  should  begin  that  life  daily,  as  we 
begin  our  material  life  anew  each  day  on  waking.  It 
is  of  His  Grace  that  we  shake  off  the  bonds  of  sleep, 
which  is  a  kind  of  deathlike  void,  and  begin  to  serve 
Him  afresh ;  and  I  believe  that  moment  of  waking  to 
be  a  very  important  one,  which  gives  the  tone  to  our 
whole  day.  Beware  of  letting  the  natural  indolence 
of  your  first  awakening  master  you,  or  indeed  any 
other  temptation  or  passion  : — we  should  cultivate  the 
habit  of  waking  up  zealous  for  God's  service,  striving 
to  fill  our  hearts  with  His  Presence  by  the  help  of 
some  holy  thought,  so  that  there  may  be  no  room  for 
the  world  or  the  devil  to  enter  in,  or  for  our  own  evil 
propensities  to  coil  around  and  hinder  our  work. 
While  asking  God  to  keep  us  in  His  Holy  Hands  at 
the  beginning  of  the  day,  it  is  well  to  dedicate  our 
waking  to  the  Unchanging  Watchfulness  of  God. 
*  He  that  keepeth  Israel  shall  neither  slumber  nor 
sleep/  (Ps.  cxxi.)  Even  as  God  has  given  us  rest  as 
an  image  of  His  Eternal  Rest,  so  our  wakeful  hours 
are  an  emblem  of  His  Vigilance,  and  we  should 
honour  Him  in  both  alike.  ...  It  is  well  too,  on  first 
waking,  to  worship  the  Word,  Who  accepted  human  life 
in  the  Incarnation.  We  should  make  an  act  of  self- 
renunciation,  and  offer  ourselves  to  Him  to  whatever 
purpose  He  will  use  us ;  putting  aside  all  that  enslaves 
us  to  self  or  the  creature,  and  seeking  to  enter  into 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  19 

His  Mind,  forsaking  all  which  He  rejected,  and  striv- 
ing to  drink  as  deeply  of  His  Spirit  as  we  can."1 

And  again :  "  The  soul  should  wake  to  God  as 
promptly  as  the  body  wakes  to  life — as  soon  as  the 
material  light  gladdens  our  eyes,  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness should  enlighten  our  hearts.  Sleep  calms  the 
mind,  and  prepares  it  for  new  beginnings,  but  directly 
that  sleep  has  passed  away  we  are  specially  alive  to 
all  manner  of  impressions,  be  they  for  good  or  evil. 
A  holy  thought  faithfully  grasped  then  will  abide  with 
us  through  the  day's  distractions  j  but  if  we  yield  to 
evil  thoughts  in  our  first  waking  moments,  the  devil 
and  self-love  will  conspire  to  disturb  our  devotions 
and  hinder  us  all  day  long." 

So  carefully  was  de  Condren's  rule  of  life  framed, 
that  it  prescribed  that  he  should  dress  quickly,  fixing 
his  thoughts  the  while  on  that  fall  of  man  which  first 
led  to  the  need  of  garments  to  cover  him ;  and  bear- 
ing in  mind  that  his  cassock  was  the  livery  of  God,  an 
emblem  of  the  "  Coat  without  seam ; "  a  warning  to 
enfold  his  soul  as  closely  in  Christ  as  his  body  was 
enfolded  by  its  vesture. 

In  like  manner  de  Condren's  devotional  exercises 

were  minutely  arranged.     Long  since  he  had  made 

it  a  rule  to   himself  never   to   begin   to    pray,    or 

come  into  God's   Presence,  without  an  act  of  con 

1  Lettres,  IxxviiL 


20  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

trition.  Of  course,  he  went  daily  to  Mass,  and 
as  it  has  been  said,  that  was  his  life,  his  Heaven,  his 
All.1  He  never  wearied  of  repeating  that  a  good 
Communion  implies  the  reign  of  God  within  the  soul ; 
and  in  later  years,  when  he  had  to  teach  his  spiri- 
tual children  how  best  to  use  this  great  and  precious 
Gift,  he  always  loved  to  dwell  upon  the  desire  our 
Dear  Lord  has  that  we  should  come  to  Him  in  His 
own  Blessed  Sacrament,  in  order  that  we  may  be  one 
with  Him — that  we  may  dwell  in  Him,  as  well  as  He 
in  us ; — urging  that  men  should  communicate,  not  for 
their  own  soul's  benefit  alone,  but  for  His  Glory,  and 
to  satisfy  His  exceeding  longing  after  us.2  In  the 
same  way  he  was  always  anxious  to  prevent  people 
testing  the  fruitfulness  of  their  communions  by  their 
conscious  delight  or  consolation  therein,  or  even  by 
more  apparently  substantial  results.  Such  earnest 
desire  for  warmth  of  feeling  and  tangible  effects  has 
more  of  self-love  in  it  than  the  love  of  God,  he  used 
to  say. 

De  Condren's  rule  was  that  when  the  bell  rang  for 
any  meal,  he  made  an  act  of  self-oblation,  asking  that 
the  food  he  took  might  be  taken  for  God's  Glory,  and 
thanking  Him  for  it — so  that  the  natural  satisfaction 
of  eating  and  drinking  might  be  secondary  to  his 
Master's  service.  In  society  and  seasons  of  recreation 

1  Vie,  AbW  Pin,  p.  71.  a  Lettres,  Ixxvi.  Ixxx.  &c. 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  21 

one  of  his  strictest  rules  was  never  to  speak  ill  of  any 
one,  and  as  far  as  might  be  to  screen  the  faults  of 
others.  Another  rule  guarded  him  against  too  free 
intercourse  with  the  world  and  its  foolish  tittle  tattle, 
— but  meanwhile  all  this  secret  vigilance  did  not  make 
him  stiff  or  constrained.  His  manners  were  open  and 
attractive,  so  his  contemporary  biographer  (the  Pere 
Ameiote)  says ;  his  conversation  was  especially  bright 
and  varied,  as  might  be  expected  of  one  gifted  with 
such  a  power  of  memory ;  he  was  always  cheerful, 
and  the  centre  of  cheerfulness  to  others,  and  his 
gentleness  and  consideration  won  the  hearts  of  all 
who  knew  him. 

When  the  appointed  year  of  his  Professorship  ended, 
de  Condren  determined  on  spending  that  which  was 
to  follow  in  the  strictest  retirement  and  preparation 
for  his  ordination;  and  as  a  preliminary  measure 
he  renounced  his  position  as  eldest  son  (his  brother 
was  a  soldier,  as  we  find  by  an  allusion  in  one  of  his 
letters),1  signing  a  formal  legal  act  to  that  effect,  and 
only  consenting  to  receive  a  small  yearly  allowance  from 
his  father,  a  practical  form  of  self-renunciation  which 
touched  the  elder  de  Condren's  heart  deeply,  and 
seemed  to  make  him  realise  the  intensity  of  his  son's 
vocation  more  than  he  had  yet  done.  If  he  might 
not  give  Charles  money,  at  least  he  might  give  him 
1  No.  hoocviii. 


22  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

the  books  which,  though  not  equally  attractive  to  the 
old  soldier,  he  knew  to  be  his  son's  delight ;  but  after 
a  time  even  the  costly  library  thus  formed  frequently 
underwent  losses,  and  the  books  he  loved  de  Condren 
often  sold  to  relieve  the  poor.  "  It  is  better  to  let  my 
intellectual  craving  fast  than  that  the  poor  should 
lack  bread,"  he  would  say. 

The  proposed  year  of  solitude  and  preparation — a 
prolonged  Retreat  virtually — was  spent  in  the  country, 
and  at  length,  September  17,  1614,  the  great  desire 
of  his  life  was  fulfilled,  and  de  Condren  received 
Priest's  Orders.  This  was  immediately  followed  by  a 
retreat  of  three  weeks,  with  a  special  view  to  his  First 
Celebration.  Probably  its  results  may  be  held  as 
expressed  in  a  letter  written  some  time  later  to  a 
priest  under  similar  circumstances. 

"Take  counsel  with  those  about  you,"  he  says; 
"  they  will,  I  imagine,  find  more  need  to  restrain 
and  simplify  your  mind  than  to  pour  in  anything 
fresh.  God  will  fill  it  the  more  abundantly  in  pro- 
portion to  the  simple  content  with  which  you  accept 
whatever  it  pleases  Him  to  give  you.  Always  begin 
your  preparation  by  an  act  of  purification  as  in 
the  Presence  of  Jesus  Christ  (the  One  Sovereign 
Priest,  and  the  Fountain  Head  of  all  priestly  inten- 
tions) from  sin,  from  self,  and  from  the  world — the 
three  things  which  are  liable  to  usurp  His  place  in  our 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  23 

hearts,  and  fill  them  by  excluding  Him.  After  an  act 
of  humiliation,  of  contrition,  and  of  abnegation  with 
respect  to  these  three  hindrances,  pray  that  He  would 
Himself  cleanse  you.  It  was  before  the  First  Celebra- 
tion that  He  washed  His  disciples'  feet,  and  He  told 
S.  Peter  that  except  He  should  wash  him  he  would 
have  no  part  in  Him.  We  cannot  be  worthily  pre- 
pared for  this  Great  Sacrifice  unless  He  wash  us  in  His 
Precious  Blood,  unless  we  spiritually  cleanse  ourselves 
therein.  Then  give  yourself  wholly  to  Him,  to  offer 
up  the  Sacrifice  with  His  Mind  and  Intention,  in  His 
Name  and  as  His  representative.  We  should  seek 
utterly  to  efface  ourselves  in  this  great  act — to  be  merely 
members  of  Jesus  Christ,  offering  what  He  offers,  and 
doing  what  He  does,  as  though  we  ourselves  were 
nothing.  We  can  never  sufficiently  ignore  ourselves  in 
this  Sacred  Office,  or  say  simply  enough  with  Jesus, 
'This  is  My  Body/  Next,  offer  Jesus  to  God's 
Divine  Majesty,  as  a  sin-offering  in  honour  of  His 
Greatness;  as  a  thanksgiving  for  all  His  Blessings 
vouchsafed  to  His  Church  and  to  all  creation;  as 
a  satisfaction  for  all  offences  against  that  Majesty; 
as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  worship  due  to  that 
Infinite  Perfection,  to  the  boundless  Love  of  God,  and 
as  an  act  of  reparation  for  all  the  insults  men  heap 
upon  Him. 
"  Further,  offer  the  Lord's  Body  as  comprising  the 


24  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Church's  whole  voice  in  prayer  together  with  your 
own : — Jesus  sums  up  in  Himself  and  is  all  that  we 
can  possibly  desire  or  ask  of  God,  and  the  best  and 
fullest  prayer  that  we  can  offer  is  that  Jesus  may  be 
perfected  in  us  and  in  others.  In  Him  is  all  our 
grace,  and  in  Him  it  will  be  fulfilled  with  the  greatest 
perfection  that  we  can  ask  or  seek.  In  Him  all  the 
holiest  intentions  both  of  the  creature  and  the  Creator 
are  combined. 

"  Bear  in  mind  too  that  the  Sacrifice  which  you  offer 
is  not  merely  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God — it  is 
also  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Head  and  the  Members,  that 
is  to  say  of  the  Perfect  Redeemer,  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
His  Church,  which  is  His  fulness;  for  our  Divine 
Head  communicates  His  Priesthood  to  His  Church, 
offering  Himself  with  her,  teaching  her  to  offer  herself 
with  Him.  'We  in  Him  and  He  in  us.'  At  the 
Altar  you  are  a  partaker,  a  member  with  Him  and 
with  the  Blessed  Virgin,  with  all  the  Saints  in  Paradise, 
and  all  the  faithful  yet  militant  on  earth.  Hence  it 
beseems  you  to  forget  yourself  in  them,  and  to  offer 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  in,  for,  and  with  them." ' 

Prescribed  routine   required  de  Condren  next  to 

return  to  the  Sorbonne,  to  take  his  Doctor's  degree, 

and  during  this  sojourn  in  Paris  he  made   himself 

remarkable  by  his  earnest  preaching — taking  (under 

1  Letters,  No.  Ixxiv. 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  2J 

obedience,  for  he  always  shrank  from  coming  forward 
voluntarily)  an  Advent  course  or  "  Station  "  at  Saint 
Nicholas  du  Chardonneret,  the  Lent  Station  at  Saint 
Honore',  and  the  Octave  of  Corpus  Christi  at  Saint 
Mddard,  and  filling  up  his  time — though  indeed  one 
would  not  imagine  there  could  have  been  much  to 
spare — by  going  forth  to  evangelise  and  teach  among 
the  poor  population  of  the  suburbs. 

When  the  Collegiate  forms  were  all  fulfilled,  de  Con- 
dren,  who  had  but  one  aim — the  total  dedication  of 
his  life  to  his  Master's  service — hastened  to  present 
himself  before  Monseigneur  Hennequin,  Bishop  of 
Soissons,  placing  himself  at  his  absolute  disposition, 
and  asking  only  to  be  employed  in  the  humblest 
offices  of  the  Church,  wheresoever  he  could  be  of  use. 
So  little  was  this  the  usual  tone  of  the  young  clergy  of 
those  days,  among  whom  too  frequently  preferment 
and  profitable  office  was  the  great  object,  that  the 
Bishop  received  de  Condren's  declarations  as  merely 
a  courteous  way  of  asking  for  a  benefice,  and  while 
giving  him  the  reception  due  to  his  worldly  position, 
expressed  his  regret  that  no  cure  of  souls  suitable  to 
the  young  priest's  connexions  and  expectations  was  at 
his  disposal.  Much  distressed  at  being  so  misunder- 
stood, de  Condren  endeavoured  to  explain  that  nothing 
was  further  from  his  wishes  than  to  hold  any  benefice 
whatever,  and  that  all  he  asked  was  to  be  usefully  but 


26  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

humbly  employed.  The  good  bishop  was  not  a  very 
enthusiastic  person  probably,  and  he  could  not  wake 
up  to  a  perception  of  the  young  man's  real  meaning, 
so  the  interview  ended  by  de  Condren's  taking  leave 
of  Monseigneur  Hennequin,  considerably  disappointed, 
but  trusting  his  future  to  God's  Providence,  prepared 
to  do  whatever  His  Will  might  indicate.  To  his  old 
tutor,  M.  le  Masson,  de  Condren  remarked  that  he 
had  hoped  to  be  allotted  the  post  of  curate  in  some 
country  parish,  where  he  would  have  worked  heart 
and  soul,  but  he  supposed  he  was  unworthy  of  such  a 
post — unfit  as  yet  to  do  any  real  good  to  the  souls  of 
other  men;  and  he  then  adopted  as  his  rule,  and 
followed  to  the  end  of  his  life  the  conviction,  "  when 
there  seems  no  opening  for  any  new  undertaking 
which  one  desires,  one  should  remain  quietly  where  one 
is,  seeking  to  glorify  God  to  the  utmost  in  the  position 
He  assigns  one  for  the  time  being,  until  it  shall  please 
Him  to  call  one  to  some  fresh  work." 

The  result  of  this  check  to  de  Condren's  ardour  was 
that  he  spent  another  year  at  the  Sorbonne,  during 
which,  in  spite  of  almost  continued  ill-health,  attended 
with  much  real  suffering,  he  worked  indefatigably  both 
among  the  poor  and  in  hospital  and  prison  visiting,  so 
that  some  of  his  friends  said  that  practically  he  was 
the  curate  of  several  parishes  instead  of  one  only ! 
But  while  resolutely  persevering  in  all  this  external 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  27 

work,  a  conviction  was  day  by  day  deepening  in  de 
Condren's  heart,  that  his  true  vocation  was  an  interior 
one,  and  that  it  was  in  the  Religious  life  that  God 
meant  to  claim  his  service.  While  refusing  no  toil 
which  was  allotted  to  him,  he  treasured  times  of 
private  study  and  meditation  increasingly,  and  drank 
more  and  more  deeply  of  Patristic  theology  and  Holy 
Writ,  which  last  he  habitually  studied  on  his  knees. 
Naturally  too,  he  frequented  religious  houses,  ponder- 
ing within  himself  as  to  what  Order  God  would  have 
him  join.  His  love  of  poverty  made  him  seriously 
think  of  joining  the  Franciscans,  while  the  life  of 
prayer  and  silence  led  by  the  Carthusians  attracted 
his  fervent  spirit  with  powerful  influence.  He  was  in 
the  habit  of  frequenting  their  house  in  Paris,  and  at 
times  his  desire  to  enter  that  community  became  very 
urgent,  and  many  a  day  he  knelt  before  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  offering  himself  to  God  as  a  follower  of  S. 
Bruno  if  such  was  His  Holy  Will.  But  somehow  the 
answer  to  his  fervent  prayers  did  not  lead  him  on 
in  this  direction — and  a  strong  conviction  was  im- 
pressed on  de  Condren's  mind  that  it  was  not  in  either 
of  these  Orders  that  God  required  His  service.  With 
characteristic  humility,  he  believed  this  to  be  because 
he  was  unworthy  of  them,  and  while  giving  up  any 
choice  in  the  matter,  he  continued  to  offer  himself 
before  God  for  any  community  He  might  assign. 


28  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

"There  are  four  conditions  on  which  one's  mental 
attitude  must  be  shaped  with  reference  to  the  work  of 
one's  life,"  he  used  to  say: — i.  To  do  all  things  what- 
soever for  the  love  of  God;  2.  To  be  content  to 
do  nothing  at  all,  if  it  is  His  Will ;  3.  To  bear  every- 
thing for  Him  ;  4.  To  be  content  to  have  nothing  to 
bear  if  He  is  pleased  to  withhold  the  Cross  for  a 
time." 

No  wonder  if  those  who  watched  him  took  a  differ- 
ent view  from  his  own  of  de  Condren's  worth  and 
powers.  An  official  personage  came  to  ask  the  vener- 
able Head  of  the  Sorbonne,  Andre*  Duval,  to  send  de 
Condren  as  confessor  to  a  certain  convent,  implying 
that  it  was  not  necessary  to  select  any  one  very  special 
for  a  parcel  of  women — if  a  priest  could  hear  their 
confessions  and  give  them  absolution,  no  more  was 
needed  ! '  But  the  old  Doctor  turned  sharply  upon 
his  visitor,  and  assured  him  that  M.  de  Condren  was 
worthy  of  a  cardinal's  hat,  and  that  no  ministry  could 
be  found  in  the  Church  for  which  his  mental  capacity 
and  personal  holiness  would  not  amply  fit  him.  Nor 
was  this  estimate  of  the  young  priest's  worth  confined 
to  those  who  immediately  surrounded  him.  While  he 
was  thus  labouring  and  praying,  believing  in  his 

«  Even  this  was  not  necessarily  what  every  priest  could  do  at 
that  period  ;  a  French  Bishop  a  few  years  later  declared  sorrow- 
fully that  the  greater  number  of  priests  in  his  diocese  did  not 
even  know  the  formula  of  absolution  ! 


CHARLES  DE  CONDREN.  29 

humility  that  it  was  because  of  his  own  unworthiness 
that  as  yet  he  could  not  see  plainly  whither  God 
would  have  him  go,  his  vocation  was  being  made  out 
for  him  elsewhere.  Pere  de  BeVulle,  Founder  of  the 
Oratory  in  France,  had  heard  of  de  Condren,  had 
watched  him,  and  was  deeply  impressed  by  him,  and 
believing  that  such  a  man  would  do  infinite  service 
for  God  in  the  Community  he  was  founding,  was  not 
only  praying  himself,  but  had  asked  the  prayers  of  a 
great  number  of  pious  people,  both  Religious  and  in 
the  world,  on  behalf  of  his  desire,  i.e.  that  if  it  was 
indeed,  as  he  believed,  God's  Will,  de  Condren  might 
be  led  to  the  Oratory.  For  three  years  Pere  de 
Be'rulle  had  been  praying  thus,  when,  as  though  in 
answer  to  his  prayers,  de  Condren  being  pressed 
within  himself  by  an  urgent  desire  to  come  to  some 
definite  knowledge  as  to  his  vocation,  it  came  into  his 
mind  that  he  would  go  into  retreat  at  the  Oratory, 
and  if  possible  obtain  the  privilege  of  the  Pere  de 
Be'rulle' s  help  during  it  as  his  spiritual  guide. 

No  need  to  say  that  this  was  thankfully  afforded, 
and  during  the  retreat  the  Father's  impressions  were 
daily  deepened.  It  was  a  season  of  severe  trial  at  first 
to  de  Condren.  Dryness  and  darkness,  weariness, 
interior  desolation,  a  seeming  impossibility  of  seeing 
his  Dear  Lord — all  these  and  other  searching  spiritual 
trials,  such  as  it  pleases  God  sometimes  to  lay  upon 


30  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

His  chosen  servants,  came  upon  the  young  priest.  He 
found  a  tender  and  experienced  director  in  de  Be'rulle, 
and  was  able  himself  to  say  at  the  most  trying  moment 
of  the  storm  :  "  It  is  well — I  need  not  to  wake  my 
Saviour — enough  that  I  know  Him  to  be  with  us  in 
the  ship — I  know  that  He  shares  every  peril — and 
after  all,  while  He  seems  to  sleep,  I  know  that  His 
Loving  Heart  wakes  for  me." 

At  the  end  of  a  week  the  darkness  passed  away. 
Charles  de  Condren  knelt  peaceful,  satisfied,  in  full 
faith  before  the  altar,  his  prayers  answered,  his 
vocation  decided.  God  had  spoken  within  His 
servant's  heart,  and  he  had  no  longer  any  doubt  as 
to  whither  he  was  called. 

"  Be  it  unto  me  according  to  Thy  Word,"  was  his 
answer,  and  on  June  17,  1617,  de  Condren  entered 
upon  his  noviciate,  taking  the  habit  of  the  Congrega- 
tion of  the  Oratory  on  the  25th  November  following.1 

1  .Archive*.  P.  dc  I'Oratoire,  in.  626. 


S.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  B&RULLE.  31 


CHAPTER  II. 

S.    PHILIP   NERI   AND   CARDINAL   DE   B&UJLLE. 

IT  was  with  a  view  to  remedy  the  existing  state  of 
things  among  the  clergy  which  is  illustrated  by 
de  Condren's  unsatisfactory  visit  to  the  Bishop  of 
Soissons,  that  the  Oratory  had  been  founded  in  France 
by  Pere  de  Be'rulle.  But  he  was  not  the  first  founder 
of  the  Congregation.  An  ignorant,  degenerate,  too 
often  demoralised  clergy,  and  the  abuses  which  as  an 
inevitable  result  penetrated  all  sections  of  the  Church, 
ecclesiastical  and  lay,  led  to  the  Reformation,  which  in 
its  turn  lowered  the  standard  of  sacerdotal  dignity  and 
reverence  in  many  quarters.  Wars  of  religion,  luxurious 
courts,  apostate  priests — these  and  many  another  blot 
defiled  the  Bride  of  Christ,  and  as  usual,  the  reaction 
stirred  up  the  hearts  of  those  who  were  "  faithful  unto 
death,"  and  urged  them  on  in  their  several  ways  to  do 
whatever  in  them  lay  to  counteract  the  overwhelming 
floods  of  misbelief  and  laxity,  and  to  maintain  a 
body  of  pure-minded  Catholics,  ready  to  give  them- 
selves even  to  death  for  Christ's  Sake.  Of  such 
were  Ignatius  Loyola,  S.  Teresa,  S.  Vincent  de  Paul, 


32  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

S.  Francis   de  Sales,   and   S.  Philip  Neri,   the   first 
founder  of  the  Oratorians. 

There  is  something  peculiarly  attractive  in  the  char- 
acter of  "  sweet  Father  Philip,"  as  it  reaches  us.  He 
was  a  Florentine  of  noble  family,  born  in  1515  ;  and 
even  in  his  boyish  days,  when  he  delighted  to  relieve 
the  monotony  of  school  hours  by  visiting  the  celebrated 
Convent  of  San  Marco  in  Florence,  drinking  in  holy 
thoughts  and  visions  from  Fra  Angelico's  marvellous 
frescoes,  he  was  familiarly  known  as  "il  buon  Pippo" — 
so  pure  and  earnest  were  his  ways.  Sent  when 
eighteen  to  Naples,  in  order  that  he  might  become 
partner  and  heir  to  a  wealthy  merchant  uncle,  Philip 
gave  the  world  a  fair  trial  for  two  years,  and  then, 
with  the  same  bright  cheerfulness  which  marked  all 
his  actions,  he  severed  himself  from  all  his  brilliant 
earthly  prospects,  and  travelled  on  foot  to  Rome, 
begging  his  bread  as  he  went,  "  for  the  love  of  holy 
poverty."  The  ascetic  and  devout  life  which  he  led 
there,  feeding  on  vegetables  and  fruit,  studying  theo- 
logy with  ardour,  and  yet  praying  even  more  than  he 

1  Throughout  his  long  life,  S.  Philip  Neri  practised  an  abstin- 
ence which  he  would  not  permit  his  spiritual  children  to  imitate, 
He  used  to  say  with  a  smile,  that  he  was  "  afraid  of  growing 
fat  1"  but  to  the  other  Oratorians  he  enjoined  eating  what  was  set 
before  them,  sometimes  saying  that  it  was  better  to  take  a  little 
more  rather  than  a  little  less,  as  those  who  ruined  their  health 
by  prolonged  insufficient  nourishment  could  very  rarely  make  up 
the  lost  ground."— Vie  de  S.  P.  Neri,  AbW  Bayle,  p.  226. 


S.  PHILIP  NERZ  AND  DE  BERULLE.  33 

studied,  was  not  with  a  view  to  preparation  for  Holy 
Orders — for  that  Philip  held  himself  all  unworthy — 
he  only  aimed  at  offering  his  own  body  and  soul  in 
daily  sacrifice  to  God,  and  forwarding  the  purification 
and  sanctification  of  the  world  so  far  as  the  pure  and 
holy  life  of  each  separate  individual,  lay  or  ecclesiastic, 
must  do.  After  a  time,  finding  that  his  best  school 
was  devout  meditation  and  communing  with  God,  he 
sold  his  library,  all  save  the  Bible  and  Summa  of  S. 
Thomas,  and  gave  the  proceeds  to  the  poor.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  his  heart  was  said  to  have  been  so 
dilated  by  love  of  God  and  man  as  to  have  materially 
altered  his  physical  conformation.  "  He  was  so  car- 
ried out  of  himself  by  the  Love  of  God,  his  zeal  was 
so  mighty  and  so  vast,  that  the  world  itself  was  too 
small  to  fill  his  heart,  while  that  heart  itself  was  too 
narrow  to  contain  the  immensity  of  his  love."  So 
writes  the  Eagle  of  Meaux  of  S.  Philip  Neri.1 

Such  a  man  surely  had  a  special  work  to  do  in  the 
Church,  and  in  humility  yielding  to  the  call  of  God 
and  the  advice  of  his  spiritual  superiors,  Philip  was 
ordained  Priest  in  1551,  when  aged  thirty-six. 

Already  a  few  priests  in  Rome  had  joined  together 

in  a  sort  of  Confraternity,  the  object  of  which  was 

mutual  edification  and   support.      Philip  Neri  soon 

became  one  of  them,  and  under  guidance  he  devoted 

Oraison  Funfcbre,  P.  Bourgoing.     Bossuet,  (Euvres,  xii.  649. 


34  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FKANCE. 

himself  chiefly  to  the  confessional,  where  nearly  all 
his  days,  and  not  tmfrequently  a  large  part  of  his 
nights  too,  were  spent.  "I  do  not  wish  to  call  any  hour 
my  own,  or  even  any  moment,"  he  was  wont  to  say. 
His  special  gift  was  in  dealing  with  young  men.  The 
natural  freshness  and  beauty  of  his  own  mind  both 
attracted  him  to  the  young  and  exercised  a  singular 
fascination  over  them;  the  playful  mirth  and  poetic 
grace  which  bubbled  up  in  his  pure  and  loving  heart 
was  such  a  contrast  to  the  careworn  earthly  absorption 
or  meretricious  worldly  gaiety  of  most  men,  that  they 
hung  around  him  spell-bound.  The  grass  plot  on 
Monte  Janiculo,  near  to  San  Onofrio,  where  S.  Philip 
Neri  used  to  resort  with  his  goodly  company  of  young 
companions,  and  where  he  promoted  their  games, 
shared  their  confidences  and  wild  imaginations,  and 
led  them  on  to  the  Love  of  God  with  the  wiles  of  true 
human  love,  may  still  be  seen — or  might — in  the  Rome 
we  have  all  known  and  loved ;  that  Rome  of  which 
one  of  S.  Philip's  worthiest  descendants,  Henri  Per- 
reyve,  says,  "It  is  really  a  dreadful  thing  to  have  lived 
two  years  running  in  Rome  1  Henceforward  every 
day  brings  back  anniversaries  which  plunge  one's  heart 
into  whole  oceans  of  longings  and  regrets  ! " x 

»  Lettres,  2nd  edit  p.  269.  "  Vous  Stes  done  a  Rome? 
C'est  terrible,  savez-vous,  que  d'hnbiter  deux  annees  clc  suite 
a  Rome  !  Chaque  jour  ensuite  ramcne  ces  anniversaries  quf 
jettent  Tame  dans  des  oceans  de  regrets  et  de  desirs  J r 


S.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  BERULLE.  35 

These  outpourings  of  intimacy  and  fellowship  were 
not  all.  The  young  men  who  thus  gathered  round 
Philip  Neri  for  the  pleasure  of  his  society,  also 
gathered  round  him  for  instruction,  and  he  was  soon 
obliged  to  seek  a  spacious  hall  to  receive  all  who 
sought  to  profit  by  his  teaching.  This  was  informal. 
They  read  aloud,  they  discussed  difficulties,  they  pre- 
pared little  orations — Baronius,  the  celebrated  his- 
torian, brought  his  historical  learning  to  bear  upon  the 
subject  in  hand, — they  sang  hymns  and  motets,  com- 
posed and  led  by  Palestrina,  who  was  one  of  Philip's 
disciples ;  and  from  these  gatherings,  and  the  musical 
performances  he  encouraged  at  them,  we  derive  our 
name  "  Oratorio "  for  the  sacred  musical  dramas, 
which  are  now  once  more  beginning  to  be  used  as  S. 
Philip  Neri  used  them,  not  merely  for  the  delectation 
of  musical  taste  and  criticism,  but  as  an  expression  of, 
and  stimulus  to,  devotion  and  fervour.  Such  was  the 
beginning  of  the  Oratory,  and  the  few  priests  who  first 
lived  together  at  San  Geronimo  were  its  first  members. 
It  is  amusing  to  read  of  learned  men  going  to  consult 
the  already  famous  Baronius,  and  finding  him  washing 
the  dishes  or  preparing  the  homely  meals  of  the  little 
Congregation1 — for  into  a  Congregation  the  rapidly 

1  Baronius  wrote  playfully  over  the  chimney  of  the  kitchen 
where  he  displayed  his  culinary  powers,  "  Cesar  Baronius, 
coquus  perpetuus  ; "  but  in  mercy  to  the  digestion  of  his  brother 
Oratorians  it  is  a  comfort  to  know  that  his  office  was  not  perpetual  I 


36  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

increasing  band  developed;  and  in  1575  Pope  Gregory 
XIII.  gave  them  canonical  authorisation  as  such, 
and  assigned  them  Santa-Maria-in-Vallicelli,  as  their 
church.  They  were  then  upwards  of  130  in  number. 
The  spirit  of  their  Congregation  was  liberty,  mutual 
help,  zeal  for  souls.  They  had  few  rules — they  lived 
and  prayed  together,  they  sought  to  support  and  edify 
one  another  by  good  example,  to  give  strength  to 
isolated  exertions  by  companionship  and  sympathy. 
They  set  a  perfect  fulfilment  of  the  priestly  life  and 
office  before  them  as  their  aim  and  object,  and  while 
neglecting  none  of  the  bodily  or  spiritual  necessities 
to  which  it  behoves  Christ's  servants  to  minister,  they 
specially  devoted  themselves  to  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  men  and  boys — seeking  to  win  the  young  from  the 
snares  of  sinful  pleasure  by  teaching  them  the  charms 
of  holiness  and  charity,  by  making  religion  lovely  and 
winning  in  every  possible  way,  by  using  the  gifts  God 
gives  to  man — music,  painting,  beauty  in  art  and 
nature  of  every  kind,  to  draw  souls  to  the  Source  of 
all  Beauty.  Such  was  the  aim  of  S.  Philip  and  his 
Congregation  of  Oratorians : 

**  Omnia  vestra  in  cnritate  fiant/1 

It  was  not  intended  as  a  new  Religious  Order.  & 
Philip  Neri  believed  that  there  were  already  sufficient 
Orders  '*n  existence,  and  he  continually  repeated  his 


.9.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  BERULLE.  37 

wish  that  his  Congregation  should  be  secular  priests, 
free  from  vows  and  special  obligations.  "  His 
object,"  writes  one  of  his  descendants,  "  was,  above 
all,  to  form  a  congregation  in  which,  amid  a  licentious 
corrupt  world,  men  might  follow  the  path  which  leads 
to  a  blessed  Eternity,  but  without  leading  an  austere 
life,  without  severe  bodily  mortifications,  without 
wholly  severing  themselves  from  earthly  ties ;  rather 
following  a  moderate  line,  adopting  pious  habits,  and 
using  earthly  things  well  and  wisely.  Any  one  who 
studies  this  object  as  the  keynote  to  the  whole  will 
see  that  it  is  of  the  very  essence  of  our  Congregation 
to  maintain  a  happy  medium  among  extremes.  Its 
chief  merit  is  its  moderation." x  When  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  new  Congregation  wished  to  introduce 
vows,  S.  Philip,  though  strongly  against  any  such 
introduction,  referred  the  question  to  the  Pope,  who 
emphatically  decided  against  them.  Not  that  this 
implied  any  excessive  liberty.  There  were  certain 
simple  rules  which  were  voluntarily  accepted  by  the 
members  of  the  Congregation,  and  thenceforth  steadily 
and  conscientiously  kept.  Such  involved  the  obliga- 
tion always  to  seek  personal  sanctification  and  the 
edification  of  others  by  diligent  exercise  of  the  Chris- 
tian graces — obedience,  humility,  poverty,  simplicity, 
and  charity.  Liberty  and  obedience  to  rule  were 
*  Abbe  Bayle,  Vie,  p.  i8& 


38  PRIESTL  y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

closely  and  inseparably  bound  up  together,  so  that 
when  S.  Carlo  Borromeo  visited  the  Oratory  he 
inquired  admiringly  of  the  Founder  how  he  obtained 
such  obedience  as  he — the  Cardinal  Archbishop — never 
had  been  able  to  win  from  his  priests?  "I  impose 
but  few  commands,"  was  the  answer;  "a  Superior's 
example  does  more  than  any  words  aud  rules.  The 
best  way  of  ruling  anybody  subject  to  one  is  to  do 
oneself  that  which  one  requires  of  them.7'  He  ob- 
jected to  a  community  of  goods  in  his  Congregation, 
and  when  certain  members  thereof  brought  him  a 
memorial  asking  to  establish  it  among  the  Fathers,  S. 
Philip  wrote  in  the  margin,  "Habeant,  possideant."1 

While  inculcating  simplicity  and  frugality,  he  was 
also  strict  as  to  neatness  and  personal  cleanliness, 
often  quoting  S.  Bernard,  who  said  that  he  had 
"  always  loved  poverty,  but  dirt  never  ! " 

The  Superior  was  to  be  elected  every  three  years, 
but,  by  common  consent,  the  Congregation  elected 
their  Founder  as  Superior  for  life,  and  he  fulfilled  the 
office  till  two  years  before  his  death,  when,  by  reason 
of  his  advanced  age,  he  induced  his  spiritual  sons  to 
elect  Cesar  Baronius  in  his  stead.  The  celebrated 
author  of  the  Annales  has  written  at  length  upon  the 
objects  of  his  Congregation,  and  the  summary  of 
these,  as  gathered  together  by  a  distinguished  living 
1  Vie,  p.  192. 


S.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  BERULLE.  39 

member  of  the  Oratoire  de  France,  seems  so  well 
fitted  to  the  existing  needs  of  the  Church  in  the 
nineteenth  century  also,  that  it  may  well  be  quoted : 
"To  wrestle  against  the  errors  which  assail  faith  by 
seizing  their  own  weapons  and  turning  these  against 
themselves;  to  set  against  a  false,  exclusive,  self- 
seeking  science,  the  most  loyally  true,  the  most 
liberal,  the  most  disinterested  learning:  never  to 
allow  the  enemy  to  pitch  his  tents  and  take 
possession  of  any  point  of  human  intelligence,  but 
apostle-like,  to  send  forth  missionaries  into  every 
branch  of  science,  shedding  upon  all  the  light  of 
revelation,  and  constraining  all  to  promote  the 
advance  of  Christ's  Kingdom;  to  accept  this  per- 
manent struggle  under  whatever  changing  circum- 
stances may  arise  in  different  periods  and  different 
stages  of  civilisation;  to  become  all  things  to  all 
men,  in  order  to  win  every  mind  to  the  faith,  every 
heart  to  the  Love  of  Jesus  Christ;  and,  as  a  necessary 
consequence,  to  do  battle  one  while  on  the  platform 
of  Holy  Scripture  and  Biblical  exegesis,  another  while 
on  that  of  philosophy,  history,  or  natural  science ;  or 
again,  if  need  be,  to  track  the  winding  evolutions  of 
modern  thought,  refusing  to  allow  antichristian 
science  to  confiscate  the  domain  of  social  and  poli- 
tical science,  and  monopolise  it  on  behalf  of  reason, 
as  revolting  against  faith;  and  to  this  end,  unremit- 


40  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

tingly,  never  discouraged,  never  wearied,  to  go  on 
blending  prayer  with  study,  sanctifying  labour  by 
meditation;  spreading  out  to  reach  all  wants,  anC 
reducing  the  discordant  notes  of  mere  human  learn- 
ing to  the  great  harmony  of  the  One  glorious  Gospel 
of  Christ  Such  is  the  course  which,  in  his  far-seeing 
solicitude  for  the  interests  of  truth,  S.  Philip  laid 
down  for  the  members  of  the  Oratory  amidst  the  im- 
passioned strifes  of  the  sixteenth  century."1 

It  is  a  course  which  has  been  filially  pursued  by  S. 
Philip's  descendants,  amid  whom  occur  many  names 
well  known  to  science  and  literature,  worthy  of  their 
great  predecessors — such  as  Cardinal  de  Be'rulle,  de 
Condren,  Eudes,  Bourgoing,  Senault,  Gault  Bishop 
of  Marseilles,  Malebranche,  Thomassin,  Mascaron, 
Massillon,  Houbigant,  Gratry,  Perreyve,  Perraud,  and 
others — not  to  speak  of  other  nationalities. 

S.  Philip  Neri  repeatedly  declined  a  Cardinal's  hat, 
and  endeavoured  with  a  persistency  difficult  to  realize 
for  such  as  ourselves,  to  shun  everything  approaching  to 
honour  or  even  any  reputation  for  holiness  or  wisdom. 
He  died  May  26,  1595,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  sur- 
rounded by  his  faithful  children  in  the  faith.  Just 
twenty  years  before,  Pierre  de  Be'rulle,  destined  by  God 
to  carry  the  work  of  the  Oratory  into  France,  was  born, 
on  February  4,  1575,  one  year  earlier  than  S.  Vincent 
•  L'Oratoire  de  France,  P.  Adolphe  Perraud,  p.  24. 


S.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  BERULLE.  41 

de  Paul,  who  in  his  turn  was  to  do  so  great  a  work 
among  the  Clergy  of  France.  De  Be'rulle  had  a  strong 
vocation  to  the  religious  life,  and  being  educated  by 
the  Jesuit  Fathers  —his  director  a  Carthusian,  and  his 
dearest  friend,  the  confidant  of  all  his  thoughts  and 
aspirations,  a  Capucin  monk — it  might  have  seemed 
probable  that  he  would  have  joined  one  or  other  of 
those  Orders.  But  God  had  other  work  in  store  for 
him,  and  after  making  due  proof  of  his  vocation  in 
each,  de  Be'rulle  was  counselled  both  by  his  Carthu- 
sian director  and  the  Provincial  of  the  Jesuits  to 
wait  and  see  to  what  destiny  God  was  reserving  him, 
for  clearly  none  of  these  was  his  resting-place — much 
as  he  prized  them  all; — neither  these  or  any  other 
religious  Order  corresponded  entirely  to  his  needs, 
whether  of  grace  or  nature.  Ordained  in  1599,  de 
Berulle  gave  himself  zealously  to  the  work  immediately 
pressing  upon  him  in  Paris.  His  success  among  the 
Huguenots  was  great,  and  he  made  many  conversions; 
so  that  Cardinal  du  Perron  made  one  of  his  telling 
remarks,  so  often  quoted,  "  If  you  want  to  convince  a 
heretic,  bring  him  to  me ;  if  you  want  to  convert  him, 
take  him  to  M.  de  Geneve  [Francis  de  Sales] ;  but  if 
you  want  both  to  convince  and  convert  him  at  once, 
take  him  to  M.  de  Be'rulle  ! " 

Henri  IV.  conceived  one  of  his  hearty  likings  for 
the  young  Priest,  whose  controversial  talents  interested 


PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


him ;  and  he  successively  pressed  the  Bishoprics  of 
Laon,  Nantes  and  Lugon,  and  the  Archbishopric  of 
Lyons  upon  him.  It  is  always  hard  for  great  people  to 
understand  a  man's  indifference  to  position  and  wealth, 
and  Henri  IV.  was  not  a  little  perplexed  at  de 
Be'rulle's  steady  refusal  of  all  his  offers.  "  You  will 
not  receive  what  I  offer?"  the  King  said  petulantly 
one  day,  "  then  I  shall  get  some  one  else  to  order  you 
to  do  so  ! "  meaning,  of  course,  the  Pope.  "  Sire," 
de  Berulle  answered,  "  if  your  Majesty  presses  me 
thus,  I  shall  be  constrained  to  quit  your  kingdom." 
The  King  turned  to  Bellegarde,  saying,  "  I  have  done 
everything  in  my  power  to  tempt  him  and  have  failed; 
I  don't  believe  there  is  another  man  in  the  world  who 
would  resist  so  firmly ! "  *  "  As  to  that  man,"  he  used 
henceforth  to  say,  "  he  is  a  very  saint,  he  has  never 
lost  his  baptismal  innocence  ! " 

Long  before  his  ordination  de  Be'rulle  had  been  an 
intimate  friend  of  Madame  Acarie,  and  had  known  all 
her  wishes  concerning  the  Carmelites,  and  her  ardent 
desire  to  bring  the  reformed  daughters  of  S.  Teresa 
into  France ;  and  when  at  last  the  wise  and  holy  men 
with  whom  her  counsels  were  shared  decided  that  the 
time  had  come  for  making  the  attempt,  it  was  agreed 
to  send  M.  de  Be'rulle  to  Spain  with  the  object  of 
bringing  a  colony  of  Carmelites  to  Paris.  It  was  a 
1  Vie  S.  V.  de  Paul,  Maynard,  i.  63. 


&  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  BERULLE.  43 

wearisome,  difficult  task,  so  many  hindrances  sprang 
up,  so  much  opposition ;  but  after  patiently  bearing 
with  all,  the  work  was  accomplished,  and  de  Be'rulle 
took  charge  of  the  Order  in  France  as  Superior 
General.  This  however  was  not  to  be  his  great  sphere 
of  labour  for  God.  The  condition  of  the  Clergy  in 
France  at  this  time  was  such  as  to  fill  the  heart  of 
any  devout  man  like  de  Be'rulle  with  consternation. 
Vincent  de  Paul  said  that  he  had  found  numerous 
priests  whose  ignorance  was  so  great  that  they  could 
not  say  mass  correctly,  and  did  not  know  the  ordinary 
form  of  absolution.  A  Bishop  writing  at  that  period 
was  forced  to  say,  "  I  shudder  to  think  that  at  this 
moment  there  are  some  seven  thousand  priests  in  my 
diocese  either  drunkards  or  of  impure  life — utterly 
without  vocation;"  and  another  Bishop  wrote,  "Except 
the  chanoine  theologue  belonging  to  my  church,  there  is 
not  a  priest  in  my  diocese  capable  of  any  ecclesiastical 
office."  x  "  You  are  a  mere  priest  1 "  was  a  common 
form  of  reproach,  Abelly  says,  at  that  time,  and 
Amelote  says  that  the  world  held  the  name  to  be 
synonymous  with  ignorance  and  debauchery.  Such 
a  state  of  things  could  not  fail  to  press  heavily  on 
a  man  such  as  de  Berulle ;  nor  was  he  one  likely  to 
rest  satisfied  with  deploring  an  evil  unless  he  were 
also  striving  to  remedy  it. 

1  Vie  S.  Vt.  de  Paul,  vol.  it  p.  II. 


PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


Two  years  after  his  ordination,  de  Berulle  was  say- 
ing his  office,  when  one  of  those  peculiar  and  unac- 
countable impressions  which  most  of  us  have  experi- 
enced some  time  or  other  was  made  upon  him  as  he 
repeated  the  words,  "Annuntiate  inter  gentes  studia 
ejus,"  "O  praise  the  Lord  Which  dwelleth  in  Sion; 
shew  the  people  of  His  doings."  (Ps.  ix.ii.)  A 
strong  desire  was  kindled  in  his  mind  to  see  a  com- 
pany of  priests  arise  whose  mission  should  be  to 
preach  and  teach  the  Love  of  God  among  all  people, 
and  from  that  time  he  kept  in  view  the  aim  of  begin- 
ning such  a  work,  discussing  it  with  his  most  intimate 
friends,  among  others  a  saintly  woman,  Madlle.  de 
Fontaines-Marans,  later  a  Carmelite  nun.  Like  S. 
Philip  Neri,  he  did  not  wish  to  found  a  new  religious 
Order,  nor  even  a  regular  Congregation  bound  by  the 
three  vows.  The  Congregation  which  de  Be'rulle 
wished  to  see  at  work  was  to  be  altogether  priestly,  and 
in  nowise  monastic.  The  priesthood  is  not  essen- 
tial to  a  monk's  profession ;  but  all  members  of  this 
Congregation  were  to  be  priests,  and  their  Ordination 
vows  alone  should  bind  them,  the  Bishops  should  be 
their  superiors.  Such,  he  thought,  was  the  most 
likely  way  to  achieve  his  object, — the  revival  of  dis- 
cipline and  spirituality  among  the  clergy  of  France. 
The  Oratory  seemed  to  fulfil  all  that  he  desired,  and 
after  some  years  of  mature  deliberation  and  prayer, 


S.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  BERULLE.          45 

a  French  Congregation  bearing  that  name,  and  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  that  of  S.  Philip  Neri,  was 
founded.1 

De  BeVulle  had  neither  the  wish  nor  intention  of 
being  himself  the  Superior  of  his  Congregation. 
A-dmiring  and  reverencing  Francis  de  Sales  as  he  did, 
and  knowing  how  earnestly  he  had  the  reformation  of 
the  Clergy  at  heart,  he  hoped  for  a  time  to  induce  the 
Bishop  of  Geneva  to  be  founder  and  head  of  the 
work.  But  the  Bishop  was  not  to  be  persuaded ;  and 
later  on,  when  certain  persons  found  fault  with  hiro 
for  devoting  himself  to  the  Order  of  the  Visitation 
saying  that  his  time  would  have  been  much  better 
bestowed  on  training  Clergy,  he  answered  that 
'God's  faithful  servant,  M.  de  BeVulle,  was  much 
fitter  for  that  work  than  he,  and  was  doing  it  well," 
adding,  with  characteristic  humility,  "  I  am  disposed 
to  leave  great  undertakings  to  great  men."2  He  used 
sometimes  to  say  that  if  he  were  to  begin  wishing  to 
be  anybody  else  rather  than  himself,  he  should  wish 
to  be  M.  de  BeVulle,  and  that  he  would  very  gladly 

1  The  first  Oratorians,  as  founded  by  S.  Philip,  were  entirely 
local — each  house  independent  of  all  other  houses,  having  its 
own  superior  and  noviciate,  but  de  Berulle's  opinions  as  to  the 
needs  of  France,  and  perhaps  too  the  national  tendency  to  cen- 
tralisation, led  him  to  alter  tliis  part  of  the  Italian  system,  and 
lo  concentrate  the  government  of  all  French  Oratories  under  one 
Superior-General. 

2  Spirit  of  S.  Francis  de  Sales,  p.  384. 


46  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN'  FRANCE. 

leave  his  present  condition  in  order  to  live  under  that 
saintly  man's  guidance. 

De  Be'rulle  tried  to  find  other  heads  for  the  Congre- 
gation, and  was  only  at  last  overruled  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris,  de  Retz,  to  take  the  responsibility 
himself.  At  length,  on  the  eve  of  S.  Martin's  Day 
—November  n,  1611 — six  priests  took  possession 
of  a  small  house,  the  Maison  du  Petit  Bourbon,  in 
the  Faubourg  S.  Jacques.  The  following  morning 
Madame  Acarie  and  two  other  devout  women  com- 
municated in  the  new  Oratory;  the  six  members 
spent  their  morning  in  prayer,  and  thenceforward  led 
a  community  life — but  all  their  rules  and  customs 
were  gradually  planned  and  discussed,  rather  than 
entered  upon  at  once. 

In  one  of  his  early  Conferences  de  Be'rulle  sets 
forth  the  obligation  of  the  Priesthood  as  of  Divine 
Institution,  i.e.  to  aim  at  the  highest  standard  of 
perfection,  the  Example  of  Christ ;  to  look  upon  every 
priest  as  the  channel  of  His  Grace  and  Mind,  and 
therefore  bound  to  set  them  forth  in  his  life  and  his 
whole  conduct,  seeking  above  all  else  to  promote 
Christ's  Kingdom  among  men;  and  further,  the 
obligation  to  preserve  and  confirm  that  special 
union  with  our  Dear  Lord,  which  He  vouchsafes 
to  His  faithful  ministers  as  the  very  centre 
point  of  all  their  strength — the  essential  quality  of 


S.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  BERULLE.  47 

a  power  greater  than  that  committed  to  the  Angels  of 
Heaven. 

"  We  must  ever  remember,"  he  says,  "  that  one  of 
the  offices  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  His  Eternal 
Priesthood,  such  as  none  else  can  hold  j  therefore  we 
must  always  recognise  Him  as  our  Founder  and  Chief; 
we  must  refer  whatever  good  we  may  be  enabled  to  do 
to  Him,  as  the  sacred  and  abundant  Source  of  all 
good."  The  letters  patent  of  the  Congregation  de- 
scribe the  Oratory  as  "  a  Congregation  of  priests  living 
together,  with  the  main  object  of  promoting  primitive 
perfection  in  the  priesthood,  of  teaching  the  doctrine  of 
f  esus  Christ  in  town  and  country,  undertaking  whatso- 
ever ecclesiastical  functions  their  Bishop  may  assign  to 
them,  superintending  whatever  good  works  he  may 
commit  to  their  care,  and  generally  doing  their  best  to 
make  a  good  use  of  the  Grace  of  God  committed  to 
them  in  the  holy  office  of  the  priesthood." 

In  May  1613,  the  Oratorians  received  Pope  Paul  V.'s 
Bull  solemnly  confirming  their  Congregation.  This 
Bull  expresses  that  the  object  of  the  Congregation 
"is  to  be  composed  of  pious  priests,  specially  devoted 
to  fulfilling  the  duties  of  the  sacerdotal  life  with  the 
utmost  attainable  perfection,  .  .  .  bound  as  they  are 
by  the  closest  ties  to  Jesus  Christ,  our  High  Priest 
Eternal  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedek,  the 
Chief  and  Head  of  all  Christian  Priesthood."  The 


48  PRTESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

name  of  Oratory  was  to  be  taken  in  honour  of  the 
Divine  Redeemer's  prayers  during  His  earthly  sojourn, 
the  members  professing  a  special  devotion  to  the 
memory  of  His  nights  and  days  spent  in  prayer  for 
mankind.  The  Congregation  was  to  live  together 
subject  to  rule,  in  a  constant  spirit  of  humility,  as 
the  servants  of  the  Most  High ;  to  be  subject  to  the 
Bishops  in  their  ministerial  work  j  and  in  cultivating 
science  and  learning,  their  object  was  to  be  less  that 
of  seeking  these  for  their  own  sakes  than  for  the  use 
to  which  such  knowledge  can  be  applied  in  the  service 
of  Christ.1 

The  Oratory  increased  rapidly,  branch  houses  were 
established  in  various  quarters,  and  their  numbers 
increased  in  1619,  when  a  considerable  part  of  Cesar 
de  Bus'  Congregation,  known  as  the  "  Doctrinaires," 
joined  the  Oratorians.  In  their  early  days  they  had 
retained  the  ordinary  prefix  of  Monsieur — soon  how- 
ever they  took  the  title  of  Father ;  and  in  order  to  stifle 
any  pride  of  birth  and  high  name,  de  Be'rulle  decided 
that  the  Fathers  should  only  be  distinguished  by  their 
baptismal  names.  Eventually  this  could  not  be  con- 
tinued. 

In  the  early  beginnings  of  the  Oratory,  Vincent  de 
Paul  came  to  Paris,  sent  on  a  political  mission  from 

1  "Sacerdotum  insuper  aliorum  ad  sacros  ordines  aspirantiom 
instruction!,  non  circa  scientiam,  sed  circa  usuin  scientist" 


S.  PHILIP  NERI  AND  DE  BERULLE.          49 

Rome,  and  he  and  de  Be'rulle  first  met  in  the  Hospital 
of  la  Charite',  where  both  were  labouring  for  God 
among  His  suffering  children.  S.  Vincent's  super- 
natural gift  of  charity  had  already  begun  to  make 
itself  felt,  and  de  Be'rulle  was  anxious  to  know  one 
whose  heart  was  so  akin  to  his  own.  They  quickly 
contracted  a  warm  and  lasting  friendship,  and  S.  Vin- 
cent, who  was  anxious  to  escape  from  the  perilous 
notice  and  honour  which  were  already  gathering  round 
him,  as  well  as  from  the  flattering  proposals  of  office  and 
position  coming  from  the  Court,  sought  shelter  in  the 
Oratory,  not  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  member 
of  the  Congregation — for  though  yet  unshaped  in  his 
mind  as  to  this  his  future  vocation,  S.  Vincent  felt  that 
God  was  leading  him  on  towards  a  definite  work,  in 
the  same  direction  with,  yet  apart  from,  that  of  de 
Be'rulle — but  as  a  retreat  from  the  world,  and  in  order 
to  benefit  by  the  spiritual  advice  and  guidance  of  de 
Be'rulle,  who  had  no  small  part  in  developing  his  plans, 
and  leading  him  onwards  in  the  great  work  of  his 
Mission. 

For  two  years  S.  Vincent  remained  at  the  Petit 
Bourbon  in  the  Faubourg  S.  Jacques,  during  which 
time  its  Superior-General  became  confirmed  in  the 
opinion  that  he  was  destined  to  a  great  work  for  God 
in  training  the  Clergy  to  a  higher  standard,  and  though 

for  a  while  other  works  took  precedence  of  this  in 
D 


50  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


S.  Vincent's  career,  the  first  seeds  of  the  Mission  may 
justly  be  considered  as  having  been  sown  there. 
When  S.  Vincent  left  the  Oratory,  it  was  in  com- 
pliance with  the  request  of  de  Bt5rulle,  who  wanted  to 
find  a  fitting  successor  to  Francois  Bourgoing,  parish 
priest  of  Clichy,  then  about  to  join  the  Oratory.  S. 
Vincent  undertook  the  charge  with  hesitation  and 
misgivings  as  to  his  own  fitness  for  its  responsibilities, 
which  for  a  time  he  fulfilled  with  his  usual  devotion 
and  ardour.  He  rebuilt  the  church  of  Clichy,  which 
remains  now  substantially  as  he  left  it.1 

«  Vie  S.  V.  de  Paul,  Abelly,  ii.  24,  Collet,  L  35. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         51 


CHAPTER    IIL 


SUCH  was  the  Congregation  in  which  Charles  de 
Condren  found  his  appointed  work,  and  of 
which  he  proved  one  of  the  most  valuable  members. 
Pere  de  Be'rulle  had  not  over-estimated  the  merit  of 
his  new  associate.  At  the  end  of  his  first  year,  de 
Condren  was  sent  to  found  a  house  at  Nevers;  in 
1619  another  foundation  at  Langres  was  committed  to 
his  hands;  and  in  1621  a  third  at  Poitiers.  A  letter 
from  thence  to  his  former  tutor,  M.  Masson,  expresses 
de  Condren's  mind  as  to  all  his  various  destinations. 

"  I  believe  I  am  to  be  here  for  some  months,  pos- 
sibly longer.  God  is  everywhere,  and  there  is  no 
place  whence  one  cannot  see  Heaven  and  work  for 
the  Church,  so  that  all  abodes  alike  should  be  accept- 
able to  those  who  seek  God  Only,  and  aim  only  to 
reach  Heaven.  A  Christian  is  satisfied  everywhere, 
so  long  as  he  knows  that  he  has  no  earthly  dwelling- 
place  save  wheresoever  God  sends  him  to  serve  His 


52  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  JN  FRANCE. 

Church.  So  you  are  content  to  serve  Him  at  Soissons 
in  prayer  and  works  of  charity  for  souls ;  and  I  am 
content  for  the  present,  and  for  as  long  as  God  pleases, 
to  be  at  Poitiers.  We  are  in  absolute  peace  in  the 
midst  of  surrounding  war,  of  which  however  scarce 
even  the  rumours  reach  us ;  and  in  truth  it  does  not 
beseem  us  to  busy  ourselves  about  the  news  of  the 
day."1 

Before  long,  however,  Pere  de  Condren  was  recalled 
to  Paris,  in  order  that  he  might  be  Superior  of  the 
Sdminaire  de  Saint  Magloire, — the  first  attempt  at  a, 
strictly  speaking,  Theological  College,  having  for  its 
special  object  to  train  and  fit  men  for  the  office  of 
the  Priesthood.  This  was  the  first  link  in  the  chain 
of  providential  circumstances  which  led  to  the  foun- 
dation of  the  great  work,  the  Seminary  of  Saint  Sulpice, 
though  as  yet  de  Condren  and  his  spiritual  son,  Jean 
Jacques  Olier,  had  not  been  brought  together. 

The  time  during  which  de  Condren  governed  this 
new  house  was  one  of  extreme  trial  to  his  own  soul. 
That  strange  struggle  which  is  so  often  permitted  by 
God's  all-wise  Love  to  beset  His  chosen  servants  came 
upon  the  Father.  Once  he  had  been  full  of  light  and 
joy,  conscious  of  and  rejoicing  in  an  abiding  quicken- 
ing sense  of  God's  Presence ;  but  now  darkness,  dry- 
ness,  and  a  deadly  oppression  banished  this  happiness. 
'  Lettres,  xciz. 


DE  CONDREN' S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         53 

All  his  vast  stores  of  learning,  theological  and  other, 
so  needful  to  his  present  work,  seemed  lost,  and  a 
kind  of  mental  paralysis  fettered  his  thoughts.  He 
might  hunt  vainly  after  an  idea,  or  a  train  of  reasoning, 
the  livelong  day,  for  all  his  intellectual  faculties  were 
numbed.  Meanwhile  he  had  to  give  constant  lectures 
to  the  students  of  Saint  Magloire,  to  preach  in  their 
chapel  (and  it  had  become  the  fashion  for  royalty 
and  the  Court,  as  well  as  for  the  faithful  generally,  to 
attend  the  Oratorians'  services),  and  to  deal  with  a 
multitude  of  souls  who  brought  their  troubles  and 
perplexities,  individual  and  ecclesiastical,  to  him. 

Pere  de  Condren  entreated  the  Superior,  de  Be'rulle, 
to  allow  him  to  resign  the  office  he  felt  so  unequal  to 
exercise,  but  in  vain.  Pere  de  Be'rulle,  himself  so 
deeply  versed  in  the  mysteries  of  the  hidden  life, 
knew  well  that,  amid  all  this  dryness  and  desolation 
and  seeming  incapacity,  a  great  work  was  going  on 
both  in  de  Condren's  soul,  and  through  him  upon 
those  who  listened  to  his  instructions.  After  this  it 
became  a  matter  of  obedience  to  persevere ;  but  de 
Condren  said  that  every  time  he  was  going  to  preach 
he  expected  utterly  to  break  down,  and  he  habitually 
offered  to  God  the  humiliating  failure  he  felt  likely  to 
make. 

"  I  used  to  go  into  the  pulpit,"  he  said,  "  with  such 
a  total  want  of  mental  perceptions,  that  I  had  not  the 


54  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

least  idea  how  to  begin ;  and  when  God  vouchsafed 
me  some  good  thought,  I  did  not  know  at  all  how  to 
go  on,  or  what  to  say  next." *  But  nevertheless  the 
preacher  did  not  betray  this  inward  distress  to  his 
auditors.  There  was  never  the  slightest  incoherence 
or  hesitation  to  betray  his  secret  discomfort,  and  while 
himself  conscious  of  nothing  but  dulness  and  dryness, 
his  words  conveyed  light  and  life  to  the  souls  he 
taught. 

Other  spiritual  trials,  active  as  well  as  passive,  were 
added  to  these  which  beset  his  intellectual  being, 
temptations  which  sometimes  are  so  mysteriously  per- 
mitted to  beset  the  pure  in  heart,  and  which  led  him 
to  think  himself  unworthy  to  approach  the  Altar  of 
God.  These  temptations  were  hidden  in  the  depths 
of  his  own  sorrowful  spirit,  but  it  pleased  God  to 
make  known  to  two  saintly  persons  that  de  Condren 
was  thus  suffering,  and  that  his  sufferings  were  wholly 
free  from  sin ;  neither  should  he  abstain  from  cele- 
brating the  Blessed  Sacrifice  because  of  his  conscious 
unworthiness.  The  Religious  to  whom  this  communi- 
cation was  made  imparted  it  to  de  Condren,  who, 
amazed  at  so  minute  and  detailed  a  knowledge  of  his 
unspoken  troubles,  such  as  could  come  only  from  a 
special  design  of  God's  Providence,  accepted  the 
lesson  with  the  utmost  humility,  and  obliged  the  per- 
1  Vie,  Amelote,  p.  135. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         55 

son  in  question  to  give  him  a  faithful  account  of  all 
God's  message,  himself  listening  to  it  on  his  knees. 
From  that  time  he  fulfilled  all  the  duties  of  which  he 
still  felt  so  unworthy,  endeavouring,  as  he  said,  to 
"  suffer  in  holiness." 

Unfortunately  none  of  de  Condren's  published 
letters  are  dated,  and  it  is  only  by  the  help  of  internal 
evidence  that  one  can  refer  them  to  their  rightful 
period.  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  it  was 
during  this  season  of  spiritual  trial  that  he  wrote  to 
one  under  his  direction  as  follows  : — 

"  Be  content  that  God  should  be  God  in  all  things, 
and  that  being  to  you,  as  He  is,  a  Jealous  God,  He 
should  not  tolerate  any  rival.  Give  yourself  up  to 
God  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  Jesus  Christ  in  union 
with  His  own  abandonment  to  His  Father ;  so  that, 
divesting  yourself  of  any  desire  to  live  for  yourself,  or 
to  be  anything  whatsoever,  your  sole  wish  may  be 
that  God  should  dwell  in  you,  and  that  He  may  guide 

you  with  reference  to  all  things  whatsoever 

Your  being  should  be  wholly  absorbed  in  Him,  there 
must  be  nothing  left  for  the  creature,  less  still  for 
yourself;  the  consummation  of  all  things  should  be 
for  you  in  Jesus  Christ  through  the  Holy  Spirit — in 
short,  in  God — His  directing,  guiding,  perfecting 
Hand.  You  have  nothing  to  do  save  to  give  yourself 
up  to  His  Will  with  respect  to  you,  willing  only  what 


56  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

He  wills,  desiring  only  His  Glory,  until  all  things  are 
swallowed  up  in  the  unity  of  that  Glory." * 

After  a  time  these  distressing  trials  and  temptations 
were  removed,  and  not  unnaturally  de  Condren's  gifts 
and  powers  in  the  guidance  of  souls  were  found  to 
have  increased  greatly  through  their  sharp  discipline. 
From  this  time  he  seems  to  have  been  endowed  with 
a  very  remarkable  power  of  reading  souls,  and  of 
making  God's  Ways  plain  to  those  who  sought  to 
advance  in  the  interior  life. 

About  this  time  the  marriage  of  Henrietta 
Maria  of  France  with  King  Charles  I.  of  England 
was  in  contemplation,  and  Pere  de  Berulle  was 
chosen  by  Louis  XIII.  to  go  to  Rome  and  negotiate 
the  necessary  dispensations,  after  which  he  was  sent 
to  England  as  the  Queen's  Confessor,  whence,  how- 
ever, Louis  XIII.  recalled  him  in  three  months  to 
assist  in  certain  complicated  negotiations  concerning 
the  Valtelline.  The  King  was  anxious  that  this 
chosen  counsellor  should  obtain  a  Cardinal's  hat,  and 
in  spite  of  Pere  de  BeVulle's  sincere  entreaties  that  he 
might  be  excused  bearing  this  dignity,  it  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  Pope  Urban  VIII.  in  August  1627. 

"The  courier  who  was  taking  these  tidings  to  the 
Court,  then  at  Saint  Germain,"  (say  the  Annals  of 
the  Congregation,)  "left  a  note  as  he  passed  for  our 
1  Lettres,  iv. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         57 

General,  containing  the  announcement.  One  of  our 
Fathers  happened  to  be  with  the  R.  P.  General  when 
he  read  the  note.  Seeing  him  after  reading  it  kneel 
down  in  prayer,  from  which  he  rose  with  a  sorrowful 
downcast  expression,  the  Father  asked  '  What  is  the 
matter?  You  seem  troubled.  Have  the  English 
taken  the  He  de  Re'?'  The  General  only  answered, 
*  No,  thank  God,  nothing  of  that  sort  has  happened ;' 
and  without  saying  anything  more  he  began  again  to 
pray,  and  remained  so  occupied  until  the  arrival  of 
the  Nuncio  who  brought  official  tidings  that  he  was  a 
Cardinal."1 

It  was  in  1625,  when  the  General  of  the  Congre- 
gation began  to  be  so  much  occupied  by  external 
duties,  that  he  recalled  de  Condren  from  S.  Magloire 
to  the  Mother  House  in  the  Rue  Saint  Honore,  and 
to  those  who  knew  them  both  it  was  no  surprise  to 
see  the  elder  man  place  himself  under  Pere  de 
Condren's  direction.  He  was  wont  to  say  of  the  latter 
that  "  he  must  have  been  born  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  the  Oratory,"  and  he"  used  to  remark  that  "  while 
the  Congregation  obeyed  its  General,  that  General 
obeyed  Pere  de  Condren."  So  great  was  his  venera- 
tion for  his  saintly  disciple,  that  as  he  passed  Pere 
de  Condren's  room  Cardinal  de  Berulle  would  kneel 
down  and  kiss  the  floor  where  he  was  wont  to  tread. 
1  Vie  du  Pere  de  Berulle,  p.  60. 


58  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

The  Father's  direction  was  sought  largely.  Men  of 
the  world,  men  of  science,  proud  of  their  own  attain- 
ments, met  with  a  mind  fully  able  to  cope  with  them 
in  the  humble  Oratorian.  His  extensive  reading, 
assisted  by  his  marvellous  memory,  gave  him  a  very 
unusual  command  over  most  subjects,  literary,  philo- 
sophical, or  scientific,  and  all  his  knowledge  was  held 
as  a  trust  from  God,  to  be  faithfully  used  in  His  Ser- 
vice, for  which  due  account  must  be  rendered  here- 
after. How  entirely  this  was  the  controlling  motive 
of  his  mind  may  be  seen  in  a  letter  on  the  subject  of 
study  to  a  friend. 

"  I  would  that  we  were  all  holy  enough  to  desire 
no  knowledge  save  to  know  Jesus  Christ  according 
to  S.  Paul's  words,  '  Non  judicari  me  scire  aliquid 
inter  vos  nisi  Jesum  Christum,  et  hunc  crucifixum.' x 
He  realised  that  all  the  knowledge  of  this  world 
will  perish  before  the  Judgment  of  God,  when 
nothing  will  endure  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  that 
which  has  come  forth  from  Him.  Men  have 
given  birth  to  their  various  schools  and  systems,  but 
all  these  will  perish  with  them.  Latin  and  Greek 
came  forth  from  Babel,  like  other  tongues ;  they  were 
the  offspring  of  sin,  and  they  will  perish  when  sin  is 
done  away  with  for  ever.  Even  the  study  of  God's 

1  "  I  determined  to  know  nothing  among  you  save  Jesus 
Christ  and  Him  Crucified."  I  Cor.  ii.  2. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         59 

Works,  the  knowledge  of  His  Creation,  from  Heaven 
to  earth,  from  the  cedar  of  Lebanon  to  the  hyssop, 
was  owned  to  be  but  empty  and  vain,  a  mere  weari- 
ness of  the  spirit,  by  the  Wise  King  whom  it  pleased 
God  to  enlighten.  If  we  were  to  be  gifted  with  the 
like  Spirit  of  Divine  Wisdom,  we  should  see  it  as  he 
did,  and  it  would  be  a  weariness  to  us  to  apply  to 
anything  save  to  Jesus  Christ,  instead  of  delighting 
and  finding  satisfaction  in  other  studies.  An  excessive 
devotion  to  human  science  is  too  common  a  blot 
among  literary  people,  who  therein  rather  imitate 
what  Solomon  called  the  vanity  of  vanities  than  the 
wiser  conclusions  he  came  to  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  But  we  are  Christians  by  God's 
Mercy,  and  more  bound  than  was  Solomon  to  despise 
the  world  and  its  wisdom.  We  know  as  he  did  not 
that  Jesus  Christ  Alone  is  the  Science  of  Saints,  we 
are  disciples  in  God's  school,  wherein  we  receive 
Jesus  Christ  the  True  Wisdom,  and  we  must  learn 
that  all  else  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

"  I  do  not  say  all  this  with  a  view  to  deter  you  from 
study,  but  rather  to  lead  you  to  study  after  a  Christian 
fashion,  and  without  losing  sight  of  the  pure  instinct 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  I  say  it  to  prevent  you  from 
yielding  too  far  to  the  vanity  of  human  intellect,  or 
the  love  of  profane  literature,  which  cannot  be  blame- 
less in  any  soul  dedicated  to  God,  but  which  is 


60  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

specially  to  be  avoided  in  the  case  of  us  who  are 
priests,  and  who  as  such  are  set  apart  to  the  Lord. 
By  our  priestly  consecration  we  separated  ourselves 
from  all  profane  and  even  all  purely  secular  interests, 
in  order  that  we  might  minister  at  God's  Altar,  teach 
His  Wisdom  to  the  world,  do  His  Work  in  it,  stablish 
His  Kingdom,  and  above  all  cause  Jesus  Christ  to 
live  in  the  hearts  of  our  people.  We  must  not  with- 
draw from  these  holy  duties  for  the  sake  of  any 
delight  whatsoever  in  secular  literature;  it  would  be 
a  distinct  damage  to  our  sacred  calling.  Therefore 
the  first  rule  you  should  adopt  in  your  studies  is  not 
to  let  yourself  be  led  away  by  them,  not  to  seek 
your  greatest  happiness  in  them,  not  to  make  them 
your  chief  object,  not  to  prefer  them  to  your  heavenly 
birthright,  not  to  look  upon  them  as  the  most  impor- 
tant kind  of  knowledge  after  which  you  are  bound  to 
aspire,  since  they  are  but  human.  On  the  contrary, 
you  should  count  the  trammels  of  secular  learning  as 
a  humiliation  which  your  intellectual  being  has  to 
endure  willingly  for  the  Love  and  in  honour  of  the 
Son  of  God,  Who  vouchsafed  to  come  on  earth  and 
to  lay  aside  His  Divine  Omniscience  in  order  to  use 
the  language  and  thoughts  of  men.1  Such  an  attitude 

1  Rom.  viii.  23. 

"  For  the  thoughts  of  mortal  men  are  miserable,  and  our 
devices  are  but  uncertain.  For  the  corruptible  body  presseth 
down  the  soul,  and  the  earthly  tabernacle  weigheth  clown  the 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         61 

of  mind  in  study  with  respect  to  Him  Who  came 
among  us  'in  similitudinem  carnis  peccati,'  will 
preserve  you  from  danger. 

"  Our  one  first  aim  will  be  to  serve  God  Alone,  to 
live  in  Him  solely,  to  keep  apart  from  earthly  things. 
But  if  we  give  ourselves  heartily  to  our  Dear  Lord, 
entering  into  the  spirit  of  His  Incarnation,  we  shall, 
without  losing  anything  of  that  original  attitude,  go 
forth  as  He  came  forth  from  the  Father,  and  apply 
ourselves  to  earthly  matters ;  hearken  to  the  words  of 
men,  albeit  shiners,  learn  their  languages  and  accept 
rather  with  patience  than  with  seli-seeking  or  com- 
placency such  application  to  secular  studies  as  is 
needful  for  God's  Glory.  But  in  order  to  do  this  in 
holiness  and  according  to  the  Mind  oi  Christ  we 
must  give  ourselves  wholly  to  Him,  and  entreat  of 
Him  to  keep  us  free  from  self-esteem,  and  the 
other  mental  infirmities  which  beset  those  much  given 
to  literary  pursuits. 

"  Our  reverend  Father  and  honoured  Founder  was 
always  very  anxious  that  since  it  has  pleased  God  to 
give  our  Congregations  educational  work  to  do,  it 

mind  that  museth  on  many  things.  And  hardly  do  we  guess 
aright  at  things  that  are  upon  earth,  and  with  labour  do  we  find 
the  things  that  are  before  us  ;  but  the  things  that  are  in  Heaven 
who  hath  searched  out  ?  And  Thy  counsel  who  hath  known, 
except  Thou  give  wisdom,  and  send  Thy  Holy  Spirit  from 
above  ?  "  Wisdom  ix.  14- 18. 


62  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

should  be  done  in  the  Spirit  of  His  Dear  Son ;  I  fee) 
bound  to  urge  his  wishes  upon  you,  and  to  warn  you 
against  allowing  your  studies  ever  to  diminish  aught  of 
that  Spirit  or  of  His  Grace  in  you/1"1 

And  again, — 

"You  will  never  find  any  real  settled  peace  so 
long  as  you  delight  in  study  and  science  out  of 
mere  self-love.  Christ  cannot  endure  any  ruling 
motive  save  His  Own  pure  Love  in  the  hearts  He 
cherishes  and  guides.  While  working  diligently  at 
the  studies  which  are  necessary  to  your  earthly  calling, 
you  must  inwardly  long  for  the  blessedness  of  the 
future  life,  wherein  God  will  be  our  Light  and 
Knowledge.  Study  is  but  a  consequence  of  our  fallen 
life  and  a  humiliation  arising  out  of  our  fallen  nature 
which  has  lost  its  original  light.  We  ought  to  study 
in  a  humble  spirit,  and  nothing  that  our  own  under- 
standing requires  or  men  teach  us  should  usurp  God's 
•place  in  the  heart.  If  you  feel  that  the  vain  love  of 
science  is  getting  hold  of  you,  turn  to  God  and  resolve 
that  He  Alone  shall  be  your  Light  and  your  Glory — 
the  sole  Object  of  your  satisfaction  and  rest.  It  is  of 
His  Mercy  that  He  will  not  permit  your  mind  to  find 
rest  elsewhere  than  in  Him.  If  He  left  you  to  yourself 
your  studies  would  engross  you  and  distract  you  from 
Him,  as  they  have  done  with  many  another,  without 
1  Leitres,  vi. 


DE  CO ND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         63 

your  realising  the  mischief  that  was  at  work.  Look 
upon  study  as  a  necessary  labour  in  your  present  condi- 
tion, to  be  borne  with  in  a  penitential  spirit,  the  object 
of  which  is  rather  to  give  God  glory  than  to  make  you 
learned.  Do  not  be  disturbed  if  you  are  beset  by  the 
love  of  learning,  although  you  are  striving  to  be 
detached  from  it.  Be  satisfied  to  renounce  self  in 
the  matter  from  time  to  time,  and  for  the  rest  wait 
in  humble  patience  till  God  gives  you  the  grace  of 
perfect  detachment."  * 

Elsewhere,  writing  to  the  members  of  a  branch 
house  concerning  their  duties  as  students,  he  says,  "  If 
we  have  Cicero  on  our  lips,  at  all  events  let  us  strive 
to  have  Jesus  Christ  in  our  heart,  and  a  great  zeal  for 
souls  in  our  will.  Let  us  not  be  filled  with  the  love  of 
profane  elegance  in  literature,  but  let  us  therewith 
combine  the  love  of  simplicity  and  Christian  humility. 
Let  Jesus  be  the  God  of  all  the  studies  in  your  house. 
.  .  .  We  must  not  make  a  mere  Parnassus  of  His 
house  of  prayer,  His  Oratory.  Secular  studies  should 
be  no  more  than  one  way  of  practising  charity  to  us, 
and  we  should  make  these  exterior  works  a  means  of 
winning  souls,  whose  salvation  is  the  great  desire 
of  the  Saviour.  True  Christian  perfection,  far  from 
despising  such  means  of  benefiting  one's  neighbour 
and  of  glorifying  God,  seizes  them  gladly,  and  turns 
1  Lett  res,  No.  cvi. 


64  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

them  to  a  good  purpose,  working  them  earnestly  and 
boldly.  But  to  do  this,  you  must  drink  deep  of  this 
spirit  of  charity,  at  its  Fountain  Head,  Jesus  Christ 
— in  order  to  be  able  to  carry  out  such  work  in 
the  true  sense  of  sacrifice — in  His  Name,  and  to 
remain  uninjured  by  the  vanity  of  human  intellect 
in  study. 

"  Of  old  heathen  poets  and  philosophers  invoked 
Apollo  and  the  Muses,  and  verily  the  Evil  One,  wor- 
shipped under  such  names,  inspired  them  frequently 
with  vanity  and  licentiousness.  But  in  the  school  of 
Jesus  we  must  know  no  inspiring  ' furore*  save  the 
fervour  of  His  Love,  nor  any  guiding  spirit  in  our 
studies  save  Himself.  We  must  walk  by  His  Light, 
Who  is  the  God  of  Truth,  and  rely  upon  His  Help, 
the  rather  that  His  Love  is  as  boundless  as  His  Ruling 
Power.  Let  us  work  in  that  Strength,  with  full 
confidence  and  a  hearty  diligence  worthy  of  Him  and 
His  Love,  on  behalf  of  those  who  come  to  us  for 
instruction.  It  would  be  a  fault  worthy  of  His 
Judgment,  if  we  were  to  be  more  careless  or  slothful 
in  the  studies  which  He  assigns  as  our  duty,  and  to 
which  His  Holy  Spirit  calls  us,  than  were  heathen 
men  of  old  in  their  schools  where  false  gods  only 
were  invoked."  * 

But  while  Pere  de  Condren's  learning  and  wisdom 

1  Lettres,  vii. 


DR  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         65 

were  so  great  that  Cardinal  de  Bdrulle  was  wont  to 
write  down  his  sayings  on  his  knees  ;  and  Saint  Vin- 
cent de  Paul  declared  that  "  there  was  no  one  like 
him — non  est  inventus  similis  illi;  "  and  Sainte  Jeanne 
de  Chantal  was  heard  to  say  that  "  if  God  had  sent 
Francis  de  Sales  to  teach  men,  Pere  de  Condren  seemed 
fit  to  teach  the  Angels  ; "  *  the  Oratorian  Father  him- 
self was  as  ready  to  devote  the  vast  stores  of  his 
spiritual  mind  to  the  humblest  as  to  the  most  elevated 
of  souls. 

"  God  made  de  Condren  expressly  for  the  Saints," 
wrote  Cloysault,  "  and  gifted  him  with  the  power  of 
leading  them  to  the  highest  perfection  ;  there  was  no 
path  of  holiness  too  marvellous  for  his  immediate 
apprehension,  and  indeed  he  was  so  versed  in  such 
ways  that  he  used  to  say  he  believed  there  to  be  as 
many  saints  living  in  our  day,  though  more  secretly, 
as  in  the  primitive  times  of  the  Church."2 

There  was  all  the  difference  between  him  and  most 
other  men,  it  has  been  remarked,  that  there  is  between 
one  who  relates  to  you  the  things  he  has  seen  with  his 
own  eyes  and  one  who  only  repeats  what  he  has  been 
told.  Naturally  this  deep  personal  insight  into  spiritual 
things  gave  him  great  perception  not  merely  of  ordi- 
nary character,  but  of  the  spiritual  mind  and  capacity 

1  Vie  de  M.  Olier,  p.  60.  a  Vie,  Abbe"  Pin,  p.  144. 


66  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IK  FRANCE. 

of  those  he  had  to  deal  with,  but  so  far  from  relying 
in  any  way  on  this,  de  Condren  was  always  slow  to 
accept  the  direction  of  souls.  He  held  that  the  One 
Sole  Director  is  God,  and  he  was  unwilling  to  assume 
that  he  was  God's  chosen  delegate  in  the  direction  of 
any  individual  soul,  until  much  prayer  on  both  sides 
confirmed  the  belief  that  it  was  so.  "  They  could  find 
endless  earnest  men  every  one  of  whom  is  fitter  than 
me  for  the  office  ; "  he  was  wont  to  say.  But  when 
once  the  office  was  undertaken,  its  duties  were  most 
faithfully  performed,  as  a  direct  trust  from  God.  His 
great  object  was  to  teach  his  penitents  to  look  from 
him  to  Jesus  Christ  as  their  real  Director,  and  it  was 
remarked  that  while  Pere  de  Condren's  holiness  and 
gentleness  and  exceeding  sympathy  bound  his  spiritual 
children  to  him  with  the  strongest  ties,  he  never 
yielded  to  any  of  the  natural  affection  which  so  often 
binds  souls  together,  and  the  real  love  which  he  felt 
for  them  was  singularly  governed  by  an  almost  un- 
earthly detachment.  "  He  loved  them,"  says  one  of 
his  biographers,  (after  remarking  that  de  Condren's 
spiritual  children  were  freer  from  all  natural  clingings 
and  attachments  to  their  director  than  is  usual;)  "  solely 
in  and  for  God,  and  thus  either  their  natural  affection 
for  him  died  out  for  lack  of  meeting  any  return,  and 
so  they  left  him,  or  more  frequently  it  became  purified 
and  supernaturalised,  similarly  to  his  affection  for 


DE  COND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         6j 

them.  The  result  was,  that  while  loving  his  spiritual 
children  with  a  boundless  love,  he  was  perfectly  de- 
tached from  them,  and  they  from  him."  r 

There  is  certainly  something  warmer  and  more 
attractive  in  the  winning  demonstrative  affection  shewn 
by  S.  Francis  de  Sales  or  S.  Vincent  de  Paul  for  those 
under  their  guidance,  and  human  nature  somewhat 
recoils  from  the  process  by  which  de  Condren  caused 
his  penitents  to  attain  to  such  exceeding  detachment. 
Possibly  the  eager,  warm-hearted  Sainte  Jeanne  de 
Chantal  had  some  such  thought  when  she  spoke  of  her 
own  beloved  spiritual  Father  as  sent  to  guide  men  and 
women,  while  Pere  de  Condren  was  fit  to  deal  with 
angels ;  and  some  hearts  may  feel  that  warm  human 
affection  visibly  displayed  and  felt  has  helped  them 
the  better  to  draw  near,  and  realize  the  exceeding 
vastness  of  that  Love  which  permits,  nay  encourages, 
such  an  intensely  familiar  approach  from  the  creature 
It  has  created  and  redeemed.  It  is  impossible  to  deny 
that  the  glowing  words  of  affection  which  fell  from 
Francis  de  Sales'  pen  the  moment  that  he  took  it  up 
to  address  a  child  in  the  faith,  draw  one  in  a  more 
confiding  spirit  to  him  than  the  grave,  measured,  utterly 
undemonstrative  letters  of  Pere  de  Condren,  amid 
which  anything  like  an  expression  of  affection  can  rarely 
be  found.  But  S.  Paul  has  said  that  "  there  are  diver- 
1  Vie,  Pin,  p.  i4l 


68  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

sities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit,  differences  of  ad- 
ministrations, but  the  same  Lord,  diversities  of  opera- 
tions, but  it  is  the  Same  God  which  worketh  all  in 
all "  (i  Cor.  xii.  4) ;  and  doubtless  those  souls,  which 
through  the  seemingly  chilling  system  of  the  one  holy 
man,  yet  attained  the  goal  we  all  seek,  will  equally 
give  God  thanks  with  those  who  have  been  led  by  a 
more  gentle,  humanly  attractive  system. 

From  the  same  point  of  view  Pere  de  Condren  re- 
frained scrupulously  from  giving  any  direction  which 
seemed  to  come  from  himself  or  his  own  mind.  "  It 
does  not  pertain  to  me,"  he  used  to  say,  "  to  pour 
anything  of  my  own  into  a  soul.  It  is  a  sanctuary 
wherein  God  dwells,  and  whatsoever  enters  without 
His  orders  dishonours  and  profanes  it.  It  is  the  ex- 
clusive right  of  Jesus  Christ  to  appoint  the  work  of 
His  servants,  His  right  to  speak  to  hearts ;  it  is  the 
Father's  right  to  teach  His  children; — He  converts 
and  renews  them  as  the  potter  a  vessel.  He  Only 
makes  them  new  creatures ;  He  regenerates  them  by 
His  Spirit  and  His  Word;  He  gives  them  ears  to 
hear,  and  a  heart  to  love.  It  pertains  to  the  Head  to 
prompt  every  movement  of  the  members."  He  often 
drew  attention  to  the  way  in  which  our  Lord  dealt 
with  souls,  tarrying,  awaiting  the  right  moment  to  act 
upon  them,  professing  His  inability  as  Man  to  do 
anything  without  the  Father.  And  above  all,  he 


DE  COND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         69 

would  do  nothing  without  much  prayer.  Did  some  peni- 
tent, rich  or  poor,  seek  Pere  de  Condren's  guidance? 
— on  his  knees  he  besought  God  to  shew  him  whether 
it  was  the  work  intended  for  him  to  do,  and  the  peni- 
tent in  like  manner  was  bidden  to  pray  earnestly  to  be 
guided  by  God's  Will  alone  in  the  matter.  The  charge 
once  accepted,  his  system  was  quiet  and  slow;  he  dis 
liked  pushing  new  practices,  suddenly  changing  re- 
ligious habits,  or  forcing  minds  into  channels  which 
might  not  be  best  adapted  to  their  special  needs. 
"  To  be  conformable  to  Jesus  Christ,"  he  used  to  say, 
"  we  must  lead  souls  on  gradually — giving  them  such 
instruction  and  such  discipline  by  degrees  as  they  are 
able  to  bear, — watching  their  progress,  and  regulating 
our  steps  by  their  needs.  It  was  thus  that  our  Lord 
led  His  disciples  gradually  on,  until  they  were  ready 
to  receive  teaching  for  which  at  first  they  had  no 
capacity.  It  seems  to  me  that  you  should  from  time  to 
time  leave  the  souls  you  are  training  almost  entirely  to 
God ; " — (Pere  de  Condren  is  writing  to  a  priest  who 
had  asked  his  advice  in  dealing  with  certain  persons,) 
— "  so  that  they  may  learn  to  find  all  you  have  taught 
them,  in  Him.  We  must  not  look  to  him  that 
planteth  or  him  that  watereth  in  God's  work,  but  solely 
to  Him  that  giveth  the  increase.  If  it  was  needful  for 
His  Disciples  that  Christ  should  go  away  in  order  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  might  come  upon  them,  we  ought  to 


70  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

be  ready  to  believe  that  our  personal  efforts  are  not 
indispensable  to  those  we  teach,  nay,  even  that  some- 
times they  may  be  hurtful.  All  that  men  can  do  for 
souls  will  be  simply  injurious  to  them,  unless  God 
bless  their  efforts ;  and  we  are  never  really  useful  to 
anybody  without  His  Divine  Guidance.  His  Hand 
Alone  heals  and  succours,  and  the  remedies  man 
applies  without  reference  to  Him  are  never  effi- 
cacious." 

The  Queen  Mother,  Marie  de  Medicis,  applied  to 
Cardinal  Be'rulle  to  recommend  a  suitable  confessor 
for  her  younger  son,  Gaston  d'OrMans,  who  was 
already  a  source  of  trouble  and  difficulty  to  her,  and 
whose  various  escapades  were  a  constant  source  of 
offence  to  his  brother  Louis  XIII.  and  the  imperious 
Prime  Minister,  Cardinal  Richelieu.  The  Superior  of 
the  Oratorians  had  no  doubt  in  his  own  mind  as  to  the 
man  he  would  select  for  this  delicate  office,  but  know- 
ing de  Condren  as  he  did,  the  Cardinal  hesitated  to 
promise  his  services  rashly;  so  he  only  told  the  Queen 
that  there  was  a  member  of  his  Congregation  who 
was  endowed  by  God  with  every  qualification  for  the 
task,  but  that  the  only  hope  of  obtaining  his  good 
offices  lay  in  God's  Grace,  and  that  he  must  pray  for 
guidance  in  the  matter.  Accordingly,  with  much 
prayer,  Cardinal  de  Be'rulle  sounded  Pere  de  Condren, 
and  found  him,  as  he  expected,  intensely  reluctant  to 


DE  CONDREN' S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.          71 

accept  a  post  which  would  necessarily  withdraw  him 
in  a  measure  from  the  retirement  he  loved  so  much, 
and  renew  those  ties  to  the  Court  which  he  hoped 
were  broken  for  ever.  However,  being  pressed  by  his 
superior,  and  feeling  that  a  priest  has  no  right  to  evade 
responsibility  however  unwelcome,  if  God  lays  it  on 
him,  the  Father  did  not  persist  in  a  refusal,  and  de 
Be'rulle  informed  the  Queen  that  he  was  prepared  to 
give  her  "his  heart's  treasure,  Pere  de  Condren,"  as  her 
son's  director.  Nevertheless  the  latter  still  hoped  to 
be  set  aside  for  some  fitter  person,  (as  indeed  he 
esteemed  every  one  fitter  than  himself,)  and  when  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  came  for  the  first  time  to  the  Oratory 
to  prepare  for  the  approaching  festival  of  Whitsun- 
tide, not  having  received  any  positive  instructions 
on  the  subject,  de  Condren  left  his  rooms,  and  was 
not  to  be  found  anywhere.  In  vain  the  Superior 
caused  search  to  be  made,  while  the  young  Prince, 
unaccustomed  to  be  kept  waiting,  fidgeted  and  grew 
impatient ;  it  was  some  time  before  the  good  Father 
could  be  found.  At  last  he  was  discovered  in  a  quiet 
nook,  absorbed  in  prayer,  and  the  summons  to  go  and 
confess  the  Prince  was  given.  Then  at  once,  feeling 
that  it  was  God's  Will,  de  Condren  obeyed,  and  went 
to  his  unwelcome  and  difficult  task,  in  which  he 
succeeded, — if  not  in  controlling  the  wild  boy,  whose 
turbulence  and  passionate  nature  were  often  made  use 


72  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

of  by  political  parties  to  the  disturbance  of  family 
and  national  peace,  at  all  events  in  winning  Gaston 
d'Orle'ans'  affection;  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  he 
succeeded  in  reconciling  him  and  his  brother  Louis 
XIII.  when  probably  no  one  else  would  have  been 
able  to  do  so  much. 

Another  notable  person  who,  under  God's  Blessing, 
owed  his  wonderful  progress  in  spiritual  things  to  Pere 
de  Condren,  was  Gaston  de  Renty,  of  whom  he 
himself  spoke  as  a  saint  De  Donadieu,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Comminges,  was  another  of  his  spiritual 
children,  and  under  his  guidance  was  led  to  leave  the 
army  and  devote  himself  to  God's  special  service.  So 
also  was  Claude  Bertraud,  known  in  his  day  as  "  the 
poor  priest,"  and  venerated  in  France  for  his  peculiar 
devotion  to  the  service  of  sinners  and  criminals.  It 
is  told  oi  this  "  Christian  Diogenes,"  (as  he  has  been 
called,)  that  being  once  pressed  by  Cardinal  Richelieu 
to  ask  some  favour  for  himself,  he  answered  readily  by 
a  request  that  the  cart  which  conveyed  condemned 
criminals  to  execution  might  be  mended,  as  at  present 
its  shattered  condition  distracted  them  from  attending 
to  his  spiritual  instructions  by  the  fear  of  falling  through.1 

«  "  Monseigneur,  je  prie  votre  Eminence  d'ordonner  qu'on 
mette  de  meilleures  planches  a  la  charrette  dans  laquelle  je  conduis 
les  condamne*s  au  supplice,  afin  que  la  crainte  de  tomber  dans  la 
rue  ne  les  de'tourne  pas  de  recommander  leur  ames  a  Dieu."  S. 
V.  de  Paul,  Maynard,  i.  65. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         73 

Claude  Bertraud's  connexion  with  de  Condren 
began  under  peculiar  circumstances.  He  was  argu- 
ing one  day  with  a  Huguenot,  and  fell  into  straits, 
for  his  adversary  was  cleverer  than  he,  and  though 
Bertraud  escaped  the  difficulty  at  that  moment  by 
adroitly  turning  his  opponent  into  ridicule,  he  remained 
inwardly  discomfited,  and  the  sting  of  the  Huguenot's 
argument  lingered  in  his  mind.  In  his  vexation  Ber- 
traud hastened  to  the  Oratory,  where  he  asked  the 
porter  to  fetch  the  cleverest  man  in  the  house  to  him. 
The  good  lay  Brother  "  was  not  gifted,"  as  Bertraud 
says,  "  with  discerning  of  spirits," — so  he  was  a  good 
deal  perplexed  by  the  request,  but  like  a  wise  man  he 
went  to  the  Superior,  and  the  result  was  that  de  Con- 
dren came  down  to  the  impatient  client  When  how- 
ever Bertraud  saw  a  man  whom  he  imagined  to  be  one 
of  the  youngest  members  of  the  Congregation,  he  was 
vexed,  and  turning  to  the  porter  he  exclaimed  rudely 
that  he  wanted  "  the  most  capable  man  in  the  house." 
("  Cest  leflus  capable  de  c'eans  queje  cherche  1 ")  With 
his  wonted  humility  de  Condren  bade  the  porter  fetch 
some  other  Father,  but  meanwhile  he  entered  into  con- 
versation with  Bertraud,  who  was  forthwith  captivated 
by  him,  and  speedily  saw  that  the  porter  was  not  so 
far  wrong  as  he  had  thought. 

"I  soon  saw,"  he  says,  "that  this  was  the  man  for 
me.  I  told  my  tale,  and  asked  the  solution  of  my 


74  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

difficulty.  After  he  had  explained  this,  and  armed  me 
with  the  proper  answers  to  my  opponent,  he  began  to 
speak  about  the  things  of  God  with  such  light  and 
such  power,  that  all  my  energies  were  turned  in  upon 
myself;  my  conscience  was  roused,  I  saw  my  own 
life  in  its  true  light,  and  felt  that  I  must  forsake  the 
irregularities  in  which  it  abounded — in  a  word,  a  great 
change  came  over  my  whole  mind.  Pere  de  Condren 
was  used  to  such  things,  and  soon  seeing  how  it  was, 
he  recommended  certain  devotions  and  considerations 
to  me  for  a  few  days,  and  then  left  me  to  God.  I 
had  scarcely  left  him  before  I  longed  to  return,  and 
my  mind  was  now  filled  with  a  very  different  anxiety 
to  that  which  first  led  me  to  him.  All  my  jesting  was 
replaced  by  deep  meditation ;  my  mental  vision 
travelled  backwards  over  my  past  life,  and  unable  to 
bear  with  myself,  I  returned  to  the  good  Father  and 
entreated  him  to  hear  my  general  confession,  which 
he  did,  and  after  directing  me  himself  for  some  time, 
he  finally  put  me  into  the  hands  of  a  Jesuit  Father.1 

Another  man  whose  spiritual  life  was  formed  by 
Pere  de  Condren  was  Pierre  Bertaud,  who,  after  devot- 
ing himself  in  a  most  remarkable  way  to  reclaim- 
ing fallen  women  from  their  evil  lives,  died  amid  an 
unusual  outpour  of  heavenly  consolations. 

Pere  de  Condren's  Oratorian  biographers  tell  at 
1  Vie,  Pin,  p.  204. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         7S 


some  length  the  history  of  a  certain  lady  named  de  la 
Roche,  who,  in  spite  of  a  devout  life  and  earnest  piety, 
was  beset  with  spiritual  troubles,  from  which  none  of 
the  holy  men  whose  assistance  she  sought  were  able 
to  set  her  free.  Madlle.  de  la  Roche's  chief  trial  lay 
in  a  peculiar  scruple  as  to  her  sins.  She  felt  unable 
to  express  the  real  depths  of  her  faults  in  words  when 
coming  to  confession,  neither  could  she  excite  any 
sufficient  contrition  in  herself,  so  that  she  was  tor- 
mented by  a  belief  that  her  confessions  were  invalid. 
Even  when  her  confessors  were  altogether  satisfied, 
she  was  not  satisfied  herself,  and  she  still  maintained 
that  she  was  unable  to  speak  the  truth,  and  therefore 
unworthy  of  absolution.  Several  good  men  gave  up 
the  attempt  to  quiet  this  scrupulous  conscience,  when 
fortunately  for  her,  she  fell  into  Pfere  de  Condren's 
hands,  and  he  at  once  saw  how  to  deal  with  her 
scruples.  In  reply  to  her  assertion  that  she  had  not 
made,  and  could  not  make  a  proper  confession  of  her 
sins,  he  answered,  "  It  is  quite  true  that  you  have  not 
expressed  yourself  well,  but  the  fact  is  that  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  see  all  the  real  hideousness  of  sin 
in  this  life ;  we  shall  never  know  its  real  horror  till  we 
see  it  in  God's  own  Light.  Here  it  is  only  by  the  light 
of  faith  that  we  look  upon  our  faults,  and  that,  while 
it  convinces  us  of  sin,  fails  to  shew  us  all  its  true 
loathsomeness.  God  gives  you  a  hidden  impression 


76  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

of  the  exceeding  enormity  of  sin,  but  He  will  not  give 
you  a  full  view  of  it,  or  the  power  of  expressing  it, 
until  the  Day  of  Judgment  It  is  the  same  with  all 
matters  of  faith.  God  gives  us  a  certain  conscious- 
ness of  their  greatness  and  depth,  but  He  gives  us  no 
more  than  our  ordinary  language  wherein  to  express 
them.  So  while  your  faith  gives  you  a  profound  con- 
sciousness of  your  sins,  you  must  be  content  to 
express  them  in  such  poor  words  as  you  can  com- 
mand. It  is  enough  that  both  you  and  I  clearly 
understand  that  they  entirely  exceed  anything  that 
you  can  tell  me.  In  faith  I  judge  of  them  as  they 
seem  in  God's  Sight,  and  thus  your  self-accusation  is 
right  in  our  Dear  Lord's  Eyes,  and  my  judgment  of 
them  is  true." 

This  quieted  the  penitent's  fears,  but  she  still 
thought  herself  unworthy  to  receive  absolution.  "  It 
is  true,"  Pere  de  Condren  answered,  "  that  your  con- 
fession in  itself  cannot  make  you  worthy  of  absolution, 
and  after  we  have  done  all  that  lies  in  our  power, 
Absolution  is  still  purely  the  result  of  His  Divine 
Mercy,  not  anything  that  we  can  require  of  His 
Justice.  But  just  as  we  cannot  escape  His  severity 
if  we  are  disobedient,  so  neither  does  it  beseem  us  to 
prescribe  limits  to  His  Goodness  when  He  vouch- 
safes to  extend  it  to  us.  You  have  confessed  your 
sins  according  to  the  ruie  given  you  by  our  Lord 


DE  CONDREN' S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         77 

Jesus  Christ,  and  now,  however  unworthy  you  may  be 
of  His  grace,  it  is  not  fitting  that  you  should  pretend 
to  be  wiser  than  He,  nor  to  hinder  Him  from  impart- 
ing it  to  you.  Keep  the  conviction  of  your  own  un- 
worthiness,  but  do  not  meddle  with  God's  Sovereign 
Power.  Of  a  truth,  if  you  look  only  at  yourself,  you 
cannot  hope  for  mercy ;  but  turn  your  eyes  on  Him, 
and  whatever  you  may  be,  submit  yourself  entirely  to 
His  Will."1 

The  needed  cure  was  wrought  after  this  fashion, 
and  Madlle.  de  la  Roche,  freed  from  scruples,  served 
God  fervently  for  the  remainder  of  her  life.  In  her 
last  illness,  Pere  de  Condren,  who  had  continued 
to  guide  her  soul,  was  questioning  her  as  to  its  condi- 
tion, and  she  replied,  "I  feel  that  God  is  very  rigorous." 
He  then  led  her  to  dwell  upon  the  Holiness  of  God, 
and  His  hatred  of  that  corruption  of  the  flesh  which 
besets  us  in  this  life.  The  dying  woman  answered, 
"  I  adore  God  in  all  that  He  is  j "  and  after  a  pause 
she  added,  "  I  leave  the  Being  which  is  present  to 
me,  and  I  take  refuge  in  the  Unknown  Being  of  God ;" 
saying  which  words  she  breathed  her  last.  Pere  de 
Condren  was  so  struck  with  these  words  that  he  wished 
to  have  them  engraved  on  her  tomb.3 

1  Vie,  Pin,  p.  156. 

»  "  J'adore  tout  ce  que  Dieu  est.  .  .  Je  me  sdpare  de  1'Etre 
present,  et  me  retire  dans  1'Etre  inconnu  de  Dieu." 


78  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

There  was  another  spiritual  case  which  came  into 
Pere  de  Condren's  hands,  of  a  very  different  character, 
a  poor  servant  woman  in  Picardy,  who  had  always  led 
a  saintly  life,  and  whose  power  of  realising  the  Presence 
of  God,  mingled  with  an  intense  humility,  seemed  to 
ensur^  that  which  we  all  so  earnestly  long  for — final 
perseverance.  But  none  may  reckon  in  their  own 
strength  on  such  perseverance,  and  Barbe  (her  sur- 
name is  not  recorded)  fell  back,  her  earnestness 
slackened,  she  became  less  careful  in  prayer,  and  her 
spiritual  light  grew  dim.  Aroused  from  this  danger 
by  God's  Grace,  and  thereafter  having  undergone 
various  spiritual  trials,  the  result  of  which  was  a  more 
than  ordinarily  clear  perception  of  the  things  of  God, 
Barbe  became  almost  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of 
the  weight  of  sin  around  her,  and  both  she  and  her 
confessor,  the  Pere  Marin,  felt  convinced  that  God 
had  some  special  designs  for  her.  About  this  time 
Barbe  was  taken  to  Paris  by  her  employers,  and  one 
day,  while  praying  in  the  church  of  Saint  Magloire,  an 
interior  voice  as  from  God  told  her,  that  if  she  asked 
for  the  holiest  and  most  spiritually-minded  of  the 
Oratorians,  he  would  help  and  comfort  her.  She  told 
the  lay  brother  who  kept  the  door  what  she  wanted, 
and  he  immediately  suggested  Pere  de  Condren. 
But  that  Father  was  absent,  and  when  the  Superior- 
General  was  fetched,  Barbe  had  an  instinct  that,  in 


DE  COND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         79 

spite  of  all  his  sanctity  and  his  goodness  to  her,  he  was 
not  the  man.  Pere  de  Be'rulle  saw  this  too,  and  he 
sent  her  away,  promising  that  she  should  soon  have  the 
help  of  a  Father  "  who  was  infinitely  beyond  himself 
in  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  who  would  assuredly 
be  able  to  relieve  her  spiritual  wants." 

Accordingly,  soon  after  she  saw  Pere  de  Condren, 
and  immediately  felt  that  his  was  the  guidance  God  had 
promised  her.  He  seemed  to  comprehend  her  mental 
position  at  once,  and  one  of  the  first  means  he  took 
for  removing  her  troubles  and  strengthening  her  soul 
was  to  give  her  the  privilege  of  daily  communion. 
When  Barbe  returned  to  Compiegne,  Pfere  de  Condren 
wrote  to  P.  Marin  concerning  his  charge  as  follows : — 

"  Dear  Reverend  Father, — May  the  peace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  always. 

"  I  thank  Him  humbly  for  granting  me  the  privi- 
lege of  your  letters,  and  of  your  prayers,  as  promised 
me  through  this  worthy  soul,  who  has  been  trained  up 
by  you. 

"  I  feel  incapable  of  really  judging  the  state  either 
of  this  soul  or  any  other.  All  I  can  do  is  to  be  the 
channel  of  God's  Grace  and  of  His  Holy  Spirit  to 
her,  so  far  as  may  be.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  she 
has  been  given  by  God  to  her  Crucified  Lord,  in 
order  that  she  may  suffer  and  be  crucified  in  spirit 
with  Him,  and  enter  deeply  into  the  Sacrifice  which 


80  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

He  offered  on  the  Cross  to  His  Father.  All  I  should 
desire,  if  I  may  presume  to  express  a  wish  where 
God  is  working,  would  be  that  it  might  please  Him 
to  sustain  her  more  under  her  sufferings,  so  that  she 
might  yield  less  beneath  her  infirmities,  and  that  her 
painful  condition  might  be  more  hidden  under  the 
Strength  of  Jesus  Christ,  Who  bore  a  whole  world  of 
sorrows  and  an  inconceivable  weight  of  sufferings, 
without  ceasing  for  one  moment  to  fulfil  every  claim 
of  God  or  man.  I  think  it  would  be  well  for  Barbe 
to  communicate  once  every  month  in  honour  of  the 
Strength  and  of  the  Holiness  of  our  Suffering  Lord. 
By  His  Strength  He  endured  His  grievous  pangs  with- 
out yielding  to  them  and  without  any  weak  demonstra- 
tion. By  His  Holiness,  He  cleaved  so  wholly  to  God, 
with  such  perfect  detachment  from  all  things,  from 
Himself  and  His  Own  Sufferings,  that  they  could 
not  in  the  smallest  degree  mar  the  perfect  union  of 
His  Manhood  with  God.  I  trust  it  may  please  God 
to  grant  Barbe  this  grace — at  all  events  she  should 
ask  it,  out  of  obedience,  to  the  end  that  her  sufferings 
may  be  more  hidden,  and  that  she  may  do  her  work 
in  spite  of  them,  foregoing  neither  her  rightful  em- 
ployment nor  that  interior  Cross  which  she  is  con- 
strained to  bear.  Our  Dear  Lord  in  His  Childhoodt 
and  Infancy  both  served  and  suffered  in  His  parents 
house  ;  for  He  bore  His  Cross  even  then  by  anticipa- 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         81 

tion.  Treading  in  His  Steps,  Barbe  should  love  both 
her  cross  and  the  duties  to  which  her  condition  as  a 
servant  bind  her ;  and  she  ought  to  ask  God,  if  such 
be  His  Will,  that  she  may  lose  nothing  of  either  the 
one  or  the  other.  If  it  be  otherwise,  however,  she 
must  not  fret,  but  accept  willingly  the  greater  or  less 
degree  of  grace  which  it  may  please  Him  to  give  her. 

"Moreover,  I  hope  it  may  please  our  Dear  Lord  to 
purge  out  through  His  Holy  Spirit  all  that  remains 
of  self-love  and  self-complacency  in  her,  so  that  she 
may  receive  His  graces  in  a  less  earthly  spirit  At 
present  it  seems  to  me  that  her  natural  mind  and  her 
senses  are  too  much  concerned.  .  .  .  We  rarely 
receive  God's  gifts  altogether  in  the  same  spirit  with 
which  He  gives  them — nature  is  too  apt  to  claim 
her  part,  and  to  sully  that  which  came  in  the  first 
instance  pure  from  God.  She  should  pray  that  God 
would  burn  up  whatever  yet  lingers  in  her  of  the  old 
Adam,  of  self  and  natural  impurity ;  and  she  should 
desire  above  all  things  to  have  all  and  do  all  for 
God's  Sake  Only. 

"  We  ought  to  be  ready  to  lose  all  things,  so  that  we 
may  find  ourselves  in  God — to  be  nought  ourselves, 
that  He  may  be  All — to  die  to  all,  even  those  things 
which  He  has  been  pleased  to  give  us,  so  that  He 
only  may  live  in  us  through  His  Own  gifts— to 
possess  nothing  of  ourselves,  that  He  may  possess 

F 


82  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

all  things.  We  must  accept  a  living  death,  if  it  be 
His  Will,  or  the  most  utter  inward  desolation  and 
suffering.  We  ought  even  to  pray  Him  to  keep  us 
in  such  a  state  of  death,  if  thereby  He  lives  in  us ;  of 
inward  poverty  and  privation  wherein  He  possesses  us 
wholly,  and  wherein  the  creature  ceases  to  have  any 
part  in  us,  leaving  God  to  be  our  sole  Possessor. 
The  whole  spirit  of  the  Cross  of  Jesus  lies  in  poverty 
and  suffering,  and  its  only  rightful  limit  is  when  by 
death  the  Christian  makes  his  final  sacrifice  to  God, 
Who  is  his  End  and  his  Perfection.  We  may  truly 
say  that  souls  which  God  has  consecrated  to  Christ 
Crucified  must  dwell  in  an  atmosphere  of  poverty 
and  suffering,  must  perpetually  die  to  self;  must 
aspire  only  to  sacrifice  themselves  to  God,  and  to 
find  their  consummation  in  Him  Who  is  the  Fulness 
of  their  longing  and  their  love — a  longing  which 
makes  them  desire  that  He  may  be  all  in  all  to  them 
— omnia  in  omnibus,  the  Apostle  says;  and  con- 
sequently they  themselves  are  nothing." ' 

The  earliest  biographer  of  Pere  de  Condren,  Pere 
Amelote,  himself  an  Oratorian,  heard  all  this  woman's 
history  from  the  Father,  and  from  her  own  confessor, 
Pere  Marin,  and  he  says  that  she  obtained  all  these 
graces  to  the  full,  and  that  de  Condren  said  he  had 
never  known  any  one  so  deeply  versed  in  Christ 
'  Lettres,  x. 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         83 


Crucified  as  she  was.  He  used  to  go  year  by  year  to 
Compiegne  to  see  Barbe  as  long  as  she  lived,  and 
watched  over  the  work  she  was  doing  by  her  prayers 
and  example.  On  one  occasion  he  foretold  to  Pere 
Marin  that  this  would  be  his  last  visit,  and  that  Barbe 
would  not  live  much  longer.  The  prediction  was 
fulfilled.  She  had  done  the  work  appointed  by  her 
Heavenly  Master,  and  she  departed  from  this  life 
bearing  great  sufferings  with  a  marvellous  patience, 
and  receiving  equally  abundant  consolations. 

Some  of  Pere  de  Condren's  spiritual  letters  are  very 
striking  in  their  uncompromising  clearness  and  depth, 
if  a  certain  lack  of  warmth  of  expression  makes  them 
seem  rather  chilling  to  ardent  temperaments.  Thus, 
to  one  who  asked  him  for  some  instructions  concerning 
the  rule  of  life  already  given  by  another  director,  he 
says : — 

"  This  rule  appears  to  me  very  well  framed,  and  I 
can  neither  add  to  it  or  take  anything  away;  all  I  can 
do  is  to  make  some  few  suggestions  as  to  the  way  you 
should  seek  the  needful  grace  to  observe  it  This 
good  Father  has  given  you  a  law,  as  Moses  of  old 
gave  to  the  world,  but  you  must  needs  seek  from 
Jesus  Christ  the  spirit  and  grace  which  God  will  give 
you  in  order  that  you  may  fulfil  it.  For  although  you 
do  not  suppose  yourself  capable  of  so  doing,  and 
though  you  are  convinced  that  every  good  thing 


PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


comes  from  the  Father  of  Light,  as  S.  James  says, 
nevertheless  you  are  not  sufficiently  confirmed  in  the 
full  knowledge  of  your  own  bondage  to  the  law  of  sin, 
of  your  uselessness,  your  incapacity,  your  unworthi- 
ness  to  serve  God,  your  utter  insufficiency  and 
poverty,  your  urgent  need  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His 
Grace.  Your  soul  does  not  yearn  enough  after  its 
Redeemer;  you  do  not  lean  sufficiently  on  His  Merits, 
or  look  enough  to  His  Grace. 

"  God  has  permitted  you  to  work  hard  in  trying  to 
observe  your  rule,  without  making  much  progress 
toward  the  perfection  at  which  you  aim,  in  order  that 
by  experience  you  may  see  things  as  they  are,  and  that 
your  own  faults  may  teach  you  to  seek  elsewhere  than 
in  yourself  for  power  to  serve  God  and  overcome  sin. 
It  was  not  God's  Will  to  send  His  Son  into  the  world, 
until  He  had  been  waited  for  during  four  thousand 
years — until  the  world  had  tried  for  two  thousand  years 
and  found  by  experience  its  own  powerlessness  to 
keep  the  Law,  or  to  free  itself  from  sin,  as  likewise 
the  need  it  had  of  a  stronger  Spirit  to  resist  evil  and 
seek  good.  And  thereby  He  teaches  us  that,  in  order 
to  receive  His  Grace,  we  must  fully  acknowledge  our 
own  wretchedness.  I  pray  Him  that  He  would  give 
you  a  vivid  perception  that  you  are  a  child  of  Adam, 
conceived  and  born  in  sin,  a  slave  of  Satan,  incapable 
of  all  supernatural  good,  or  of  shunning  natural  evil ; 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         85 

and  that  there  is  no  way  of  salvation  save  by  renouncing 
Adam  and  all  that  we  inherit  from  him,  renouncing 
self  and  self-reliance,  giving  ourselves  wholly  to  the 
Son  of  God,  and  receiving  the  Spirit  of  His  Grace. 

"  Apply  your  heart  with  full  and  firm  faith  to  the 
study  of  Our  Dear  Lord's  words,  which  tell  you  that 
you  cannot  be  free,  except  'the  Son  shall  make  you 
free'  (S.  John  viii.  36).  And  again,  *  without  Him 
ye  can  do  nothing '  (xv.  5).  And  S.  Paul  says  that 
'  we  are  not  sufficient  to  think  anything  as  of  ourselves, 
but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God '  (2  Cor.  iii.  5).  Nor 
does  this  merely  arise  because  of  the  nothingness  of 
the  creature,  but  from  that  subjection  to  sin  which 
comes  through  Adam,  and  which  hinders  the  life- 
spring  within  us.  He  was  a  slave,  and  therefore  his 
children  could  not  be  free,  neither  could  he  restore  to 
them  the  grace  and  friendship  of  God,  of  which  sin 
had  despoiled  him.  By  God's  just  judgment  we  bear 
'  the  yoke  of  iniquity,'  which  in  Holy  Scripture  is 
also  called  '  the  reign  of  death,'  which  keeps  us  from 
those  free  good  works  and  perfection  suitable  to  God's 
children,  and  sullies  all  our  deeds,  making  them  in- 
capable of  deserving  Eternal  Life. 

"  Remembering  all  this,  you  should  at  least  once 
every  day  confess  your  wretchedness  to  God  as  seen 
with  His  Eyes,  and  renounce  the  works  of  Adam  and 
of  self.  Renounce  your  own  self-will,  and  whatever 


86  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

you  may  imagine  is  in  your  own  power.  By  nature  you 
have  nought  save  incapacity  for  any  real  supernatural 
good  thing,  and  if  you  think  otherwise  you  are  mistaken 
— it  is  a  mere  presumptuous  illusion,  the  result  of  self- 
conceit.  If  we  would  have  any  real  power  to  do  right, 
we  must  seek  it  by  putting  self  aside,  and  by  living  in 
the  Spirit  and  the  Strength  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"After  this  renunciation,  adore  Jesus  Christ,  give 
yourself  unreservedly  to  Him,  ask  Him  to  accept  you 
wholly.  Resolve  to  make  over  to  Him  whatever  you 
fancy  is  your  own,  come  out  of  yourself,  and  cast  your 
whole  being  upon  Him,  offer  up  your  will,  your  in- 
tentions and  inclinations,  seek  to  lose  them  all  in 
His.  Ask  Him  of  His  great  Mercy  to  draw  you  from 
out  yourself.  Strive  to  be  lost  in  His  Goodness,  His 
Life,  His  Tenderness,  His  Love,  and  that  not  for 
your  own  selfish  sake,  but  for  His  Glory.  Ask 
nothing  but  that  His  Strength  may  be  made  perfect 
in  your  weakness. 

"  Do  not  be  disturbed  by  the  idea  that  I  mean  to 
impose  all  these  prayers  upon  you  daily  in  the  precise 
form  that  I  have  set  before  you.  You  should  rather 
be  guided  by  the  way  in  which  it  may  please  the 
Lord  to  draw  you,  from  day  to  day.  ...  As  to  the 
resolutions  you  are  wont  to  form  in  meditation,  hence- 
forth join  to  them  an  act  of  self-abandonment  to  the 
Son  of  God  for  their  accomplishment  Thus,  if  you 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         87 

are  making  a  resolution  to  be  humble,  say,  *I  give 
myself  to  Thee,  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  order  that  I 
may  enter  into  the  spirit  of  Thy  Humility,  that  it  may 
lower  my  pride.  I  offer  to  Thee  whatever  occasions 
for  humility  may  present  themselves ;  I  renounce 
whatever  of  self  may  hinder  me  from  entering  into  the 
Grace  of  Thy  Humility/  You  can  do  the  like  with 
all  the  other  graces  or  good  intentions  which  you 
seek  to  offer  to  God,  and  thus  they  will  have  their 
foundation  laid  in  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  be  con- 
firmed through  God's  Grace  and  Mercy,  instead  of 
depending  on  that  hollow  reed,  yourself.  When  we 
offer  our  good  intentions  to  God,  it  ought  to  be  with 
a  firm  conviction  that  we  are  both  incapable  and 
unworthy  of  offering  any  service  to  His  Majesty, 
realising  that,  if  we  had  our  deserts,  He  would  not 
allow  us  to  pretend  to  offer  anything  to  Him.  We 
must  be  convinced  that  it  is  only  through  His  Good- 
ness, and  the  Precious  Blood  of  His  Son,  that  He 
endures  us.  How  great  is  our  unworthiness,  which 
needed  that  Blood  to  purchase  for  us  even  a  desire 
to  serve  His  Father,  or  the  right  of  offering  ourselves 
to  Him ! 

"  We  ought  not  to  marvel,  when  we  fail  in  our  good 
resolutions,  for  we  are  sinners,  and  God  does  not  owe 
us  His  Grace.  '  I  know,'  says  S.  Paul,  '  that  in  me 
dwelleth  no  good  thing,  for  to  will  is  present  with  me. 


88  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good  I  find  not 
(Rom.  vii.  18).  Our  weakness  is  so  great  that  it  is 
not  enough  that  God  inspire  us  with  the  thought  of 
what  is  right,  He  must  needs  supply  the  will  and 
resolution  to  do  it ;  and  even  then,  unless  He  vouch- 
safes us  grace  to  fulfil  that  will,  nothing  will  come  of 
it  Further  yet,  He  must  uphold  us  to  the  end,  and 
grant  us  final  perseverance. 

"We  must  desire  and  ask  His  Grace,  but  we  must  be 
content  with  what  He  gives,  and  adore  His  All-Wise 
Judgment.  When  we  fall,  we  must  not  be  discouraged, 
but  humbling  ourselves,  we  must  persevere  more  re- 
solutely, and  thank  Him  for  bearing  with  us,  and  for 
giving  us  the  wish  to  serve  Him.  If  after  much  toil 
and  labour  God  vouchsafes  us  one  good  thought  only, 
we  ought  to  acknowledge  that  it  is  more  than  we 
deserve,  and  accept  it  as  more  than  sufficient  com- 
pensation for  all  our  efforts."1 

To  a  person  living  in  the  world,  Pere  de  Condren 
writes, — 

"  I  pray  Jesus  Christ  to  give  you  His  Grace,  His 
Blessing  and  Peace. 

"Although  I  am  backward  in  writing,  I  do  not  fail  to 
offer  the  needs  of  your  soul  to  God,  or  to  pray  that 
He  would  rekindle  and  cause  to  live  anew  in  you  the 
graces  of  your  calling. 

1  Lett  res.  LiL 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.  "      89 

"Give  yourself  up  to  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Holy  Will 
in  a  faithful  spirit,  without  any  clinging  to  your  own 
thoughts  and  feelings,  and  without  dwelling  on  what 
goes  on  within  you.  There  is  all  the  more  need  for 
us  not  to  make  any  capital  of  the  qualities  we  imagine 
ourselves  to  possess,  inasmuch  as  often  when  we  are 
pleasantly  conscious  of  having  very  humble  thoughts, 
we  find  them  promptly  followed  by  very  vain  actions ; 
and  in  like  manner  mere  thoughts  of  our  love  to  God 
are  apt  to  be  followed  by  acts  of  very  decided  self- 
love. 

"If  we  give  way  to  a  ready  belief  in  what  we  see  or 
feel  in  ourselves,  we  shall  easily  fancy  ourselves  filled 
with  God's  Grace,  when  really  we  are  only  full  of  our- 
selves, and  of  our  own  lights.  We  cannot  see  or 
understand  the  mystery  of  our  natural,  animal  life, 
and  dare  we  presume  to  fancy  that  we  can  see  or 
understand  the  spiritual,  supernatural  life  by  which 
God's  Grace  dwells  in  our  souls  !  Let  us  beware  of 
such  foolish  presumption,  and  never  pretend  to  in- 
vestigate the  secret  motions  of  grace  within  our  souls. 
Remember  S.  Paul's  words,  '  Happy  is  he  that  con- 
demneth  not  himself  in  that  thing  which  he  alloweth ' 
(Rom.  xiv.  22). 

"  Our  aim  must  be  to  live  the  simple  life  of  faith, 
ruling  our  conduct  by  our  duties,  not  by  our  feelings. 
If  these  are  bad,  God  forbids  us  to  dwell  upon  them 


90  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

in  any  way ;  and  if  they  are  good,  we  should  use  them 
as  so  many  means  for  leading  us  to  God,  not  dwelling 
upon  them  save  in  a  spirit  of  humility.  The  real 
necessity  for  us  in  the  spiritual  life  is  that  we  should 
be  busy  in  doing,  not  in  looking  about  to  see  whether 
we  are  doing  or  not.  And  above  all  things  we  must 
walk  before  God  in  truth,  with  a  single  mind.  To 
you  in  your  present  state,  this  is  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance, so  that  you  may  faithfully  follow  the  grace  of 
your  vocation,  simply  and  heartily  obeying  that  which 
is  laid  upon  you  as  from  God,  without  stumbling  at 
what  seems  to  you  suitable  or  the  reverse.  This  is 
the  only  way  by  which  you  will  attain  perfectly  to  a 
spirit  of  obedience,  which  is  so  far  beyond  your  natural 
thoughts  and  feelings. 

*  Neglect  no  opportunities  of  drawing  nearer  to  God 
which  your  calling  may  afford,  and  remember  that  the 
most  trifling  incidents  of  life  affect  our  salvation ;  the 
smallest  actions  done  for  God  tend  to  our  sanctifica- 
tion.  The  Son  of  God  tells  us  that  it  is  so,  when  He 
tells  us  that  God  numbers  the  very  hairs  of  our  heads, 
and  that  without  Him  not  one  of  them  shall  perish. 
How  great  is  His  Love,  which  so  largely  rewards  the 
little  we  do  after  all,  and  that  little  only  through  His 
Grace !  He  lays  a  loving  obligation  on  us  to  have 
confident  recourse  to  Him  every  day  and  every  hour 
of  our  lives,  wheresoever  we  may  be,  and  in  truth  it 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         91 

would  be  faithless  not  to  believe  in  His  continual  Will 
to  do  us  good.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  the  good 
He  wills  to  work  for  us  is  in  keeping  with  His  Own 
Greatness  and  Worth,  not  moulded  upon  our  self-love 
and  our  petty  imaginations. 

"  I  pray  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  give  you  grace  to 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  these  things,  and  that  you  may 
be  as  humble  and  obedient  as  in  my  prayers  I  am 
constrained  to  ask  that  you  may  be.  In  His  love  I 
remain,"1  &c. 

To  another  person  Pere  de  Condren  writes : — 

"  As  to  the  first  of  your  questions,  you  must  strive  to 
maintain  a  spirit  of  love  for  God's  Will,  and  of  fear 
lest  you  do  your  own  will.  For  although  we  may  be 
unworthy  to  do  His  Will,  or  to  know  it  perfectly, 
nevertheless  it  is  always  well  to  renounce  our  own 
will  for  love  of  Him  :  and  thus  if  we  may  not  presume 
to  think  that  we  are  following  His  Will,  at  least  we 
have  the  comfort  of  feeling  that  we  are  not  following 
our  own  will.  The  first  step  towards  fulfilling  His 
Will  is  to  be  free  from  clinging  to  our  own,  and  if  we 
can  get  so  far  as  to  hate  or  even  to  fear  our  own  will, 
we  shall  not  be  very  far  from  that  of  God. 

"It  is  a  holy  practice,  while  waiting  to  know  what  is 
God's  Will,  to  subject  ourselves  to  that  of  others  for 
love  of  Him,  and  to  seek  that  light  and  guidance  from 
1  Letties,  Ixiii. 


92  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

another  which  we  have  not  in  ourselves.  This  is  a 
matter  on  which  I  cannot  fully  explain  myself  in 
writing — I  hope  to  have  the  opportunity  of  speaking 
with  you  concerning  it. 

"With  reference  to  your  second  question,  my  answer 
is,  you  must  persevere  in  your  resolutions  when  once 
made,  unless  you  have  plain  proof  that  you  are  bound 
to  do  otherwise.  You  should  try  to  do  what  you  have 
undertaken  to  God's  Glory,  and  in  the  Spirit  of  Jesus 
Christ,  without  any  further  discussion,  and  without 
admitting  any  thoughts  of  vacillation.  You  have 
every  reason  to  hope  that  when  you  were  seeking  to 
know  God's  Will  as  to  your  conduct,  He  gave  you 
sufficient  light  for  your  right  guidance,  and  these  after- 
thoughts only  tend  to  make  you  weak  and  vacillating 
in  His  Service,  and  therefore  you  must  reject  them  as 
temptations. 

"  As  to  the  third  point,  concerning  your  prayer,  you 
know  that  God's  Light  often  shines  amid  darkness. 
There  is  a  great  difference  between  that  Divine  Light 
which  is  invisible  and  incomprehensible  to  us,  and 
which,  inasmuch  as  it  is  Divine,  is  rather  acceptable  to 
God  than  the  cause  of  conscious  satisfaction  to  one's 
self,  and  the  natural  light  which  is  satisfactory  to 
self — a  satisfaction  which  might  only  tend  to  foster  self- 
conceit,  and  so  still  further  estrange  us  from  God's 
Light.  We  had  better  be  without  such  a  treacherous 


DE  CON  DREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         93 

light  as  this  latter,  and  wait  with  closed  eyes  till  it 
pleases  God  to  give  us  His  Own  Light — wait  in 
patience,  in  pure  faith  and  simple  love.  In  short,  we 
ought  neither  to  wish  for  darkness  or  light,  but  for 
God  Only,  and  we  must  seek  Him  in  His  Own  Way, 
as  He  opens  it  to  us,  without  self-pleasing  or  impa- 
tience."1 

A  penitent  had  written  in  trouble  about  her  medita- 
tion, which  was  so  dry  that  she  felt  as  though  it  were 
time  wasted,  and  she  was  tempted  to  give  up  trying. 

"  Do  not  give  up  meditation,  however  difficult  you 
may  find  it,"  Pere  de  Condren  replies.  "  If  it  pleases 
God  to  make  it  a  penance  to  you,  you  will  not  be 
losing  time.  Moreover,  surely  He  deserves  that  we 
should  take  some  trouble  in  seeking  intercourse  with 
Him,  if  indeed  it  can  be  wearisome  to  pass  a  short 
time  in  His  Presence.  The  ordinary  courtesies  of 
life  constrain  you  often  to  give  up  your  time  to 
society  which  is  not  agreeable,  and  will  you  grudge 
that  to  God  which  you  give  freely  to  people  who  are 
indifferent  or  displeasing  to  you,  merely  out  of  com- 
pliance with  what  custom  exacts  ? 

"The  difficulties  which  you  experience  in  prayer 
come  from  three  principal  causes: — first,  because  God 
is  seeking  to  draw  you  by  the  spirit  of  faith,  and  to 
wean  you  from  your  own  selfish  thoughts  and  feel- 

T,ettres.  bum. 


94  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

ings  ;  the  result  of  which  is  that,  losing  your  voluntary 
action,  you  imagine  all  to  be  lost,  even  God  Himself. 
Then  is  the  time  for  you  to  feel  that  you  must  wor- 
ship God  after  His  Own  Mind,  and  not  after  yours ; 
what  are  our  thoughts  and  our  mind  before  the 
Majesty  of  His  Presence  !  Every  earthly  creature  is 
thrown  into  the  shade  before  His  Infinite  Greatness, 
and  we  must  lose  ourselves  to  find  Him,  we  must  be 
willing  to  leave  the  world  of  thought  we  know  in 
order  to  enter  into  the  unknown  realms  of  His 
Spirit. 

"The  second  cause  of  your  difficulty  lies  in  the 
activity  and  restlessness  of  your  nature,  which  is  too 
much  disposed  to  fight  against  what  troubles  it.  Do 
not  attempt  so  much  ;  abide  rather  in  humble  adora- 
tion, realizing  that  it  is  a  great  thing  for  God  to  en- 
dure you  in  His  Presence,  that  you  are  only  too  happy 
to  be  able  to  lose  time  if  it  be  so,  for  His  Service, 
that  you  can  offer  that  part  of  your  day  as  a  sacrifice 
to  Him.  It  is  no  small  thing  to  be  able  even  to  give 
up  your  time  to  God  in  His  Presence. 

"  Your  third  difficulty  arises  because  God  wills  that 
you  should,  so  to  say,  do  penance  before  Him  and  in 
His  Presence.  You  must  unite  your  will  with  His, 
and  the  more  you  do  this,  and  the  more  you  enter 
into  His  Plans,  the  less  you  will  feel  disturbed  by  your 
troubles — the  love  of  penitence,  and  a  reverent  sub- 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         95 

mission  to  God's  appointments,  will  make  you  not 
merely  bear  them,  but  accept  them  willingly.  Con- 
sider what  you  are,  and  what  God  is ;  reflect  upon 
the  shortness  of  this  life  and  the  Eternity  of  that 
which  is  to  come ;  the  little  that  you  have  hitherto 
done,  the  uselessness  of  that  little,  and  of  all  that 
Jesus  Christ  has  done  for  you,  and  thus  kindle  your 
heart  to  greater  love  of  God.  It  is  only  during  this 
life  that  you  can  in  any  sense  dispose  of  yourself. 
Render  to  God  the  time  He  grants  you  now,  and  He 
will  give  you  a  blessed  Eternity." l 

On  the  same  subject,  Meditation,  Pere  de  Condren 
writes  :  "  I  should  advise  you  once  in  every  week  to 
take  the  Most  Holy  Trinity  as  the  subject  of  your 
meditation,  adoring  that  Holiness,  compared  with 
which  none  can  be-  accounted  holy.  Adore  the 
Power,  the  Goodness,  the  Justice,  the  Mercy,  the 
Eternity,  the  Immensity,  the  Infinity,  and  the  other 
boundless  Perfections  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  pausing 
on  whichever  God  may  most  draw  you  to  consider. 
Give  yourself  unreservedly  to  the  Most  Holy  Trinity, 
ask  that  God's  Name  may  be  hallowed,  His  Kingdom 
come,  His  Will  be  done,  and  ask  Him  to  help  you  to 
do  it. 

"  Secondly,  Consider  how  the  Three  Divine  Persons 
1  Lettres,  Ixxix. 


96  PKIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

are  one  in  thought,  in  will,  in  love,  in  life,  in  Being; 
ever  One  though  Three,  in  perpetual  and  perfect 
union,  in  perfect  rest  and  fruition.  Neither  man  nor 
angels  can  in  any  way  be  compared  to  this.  Kindle 
your  heart  to  love  and  adore  this  Divine  Fellowship; 
ask  grace  to  honour  It  duly.  Seek  a  blessing  on 
yourself  and  on  the  Church. 

"Thirdly,  Adore  the  Blessed  Trinity  as  having 
created  all  things,  as  having  given  you  the  power 
to  use  your  own  faculties  and  the  things  around  you. 
Make  a  most  humble  thanksgiving,  and  entreat  grace 
to  use  all  as  He  would  have  you  do.  Give  yourself 
up  to  follow  any  holy  aspirations  God  may  grant  you. 

"  Once  in  the  week  too,  I  advise  you  to  meditate  on 
the  Second  Coming  of  the  Son  of  God,  once  on  the 
Passion,  and  once  on  the  life  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
You  will  also  find  it  very  helpful  to  meditate  once  a 
week  on  Death,  Judgment,  Heaven  and  HelL  I  need 
not  suggest  the  considerations  which  these  subjects 
will  supply.  You  can  also  take  such  subjects  as  the 
services  for  the  week  bring  before  you,  or  such  as 
yonr  personal  circumstances  or  inclinations  may 
suggest 

"  Further,  and  indeed  above  all  things,  do  not  let 
yourself  grow  disheartened,  or  be  cast  down,  by 
depression  or  scruples.  Keep  to  your  rule  as  con- 
cerns confession,  and  make  it,  without  shewing  your 


DE  COND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.          97 

confessor  how  difficult  it  is  to  you,  or  shew  it  as  little 
as  may  be.  Give  yourself  up  to  God  in  your  con- 
fession; tell  what  you  remember  of  your  faults  in  a 
spirit  of  humility  and  contrition,  and  if  you  grow  con- 
fused, and  do  not  know  how  to  go  on,  stop  at  once, 
mentioning  some  of  your  ordinary  faults  of  infirmity 
— for  instance,  'I  accuse  myself  of  my  want  of  true 
penitence,  of  the  time  I  have  frittered  and  wasted,  of 
my  lack  of  humility/  and  the  like.  When  you  feel 
unable  to  make  a  beginning,  accuse  yourself  of  your 
misspent  time,  your  want  of  resignation  and  of  energy 
and  courage  in  obeying  God,  and  of  your  many 
unperceived  faults,  and  then  go  on  with  what  you 
remember.  It  is  enough  that  you  go  to  confession 
once  a  week,  though  you 'communicate  three  times. 
If  you  feel  any  special  need  to  disburden  your  mind 
you  might  go  again  in  the  week,  but  never  more,  and 
not  that  habitually.  I  do  not  think  it  would  be  well 
under  your  present  circumstances  for  you  to  com- 
municate through  whole  Octaves,  it  would  attract  too 
much  attention,  but  you  might  add  one  or  two  com- 
munions at  such  seasons. 

"  As  to  your  inward  troubles  and  fears,  do  not  be 
disturbed.  They  are  a  trial  in  which  you  must  trust  in 
God,  and  abide  faithful  to  Him.  Though  you  may 
fancy  that  your  will  has  yielded,  it  is  not  so,  and  amid 
the  weariness  of  the  contest,  you  are  no  judge.  Con- 


98  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

sequently  you  must  be  very  constant  to  the  rule  given 
you,  namely — unless  you  are  so  sure  that  you  could 
swear  to  having  yielded  freely  for  five  minutes  to  an 
evil  thought,  you  are  not  to  make  it  a  subject  of  con- 
fession, but  rest  satisfied  with  heartily  renouncing  it 
before  our  Lord  in  heart  and  word,  or  by  some 
external  act,  such  as  kissing  the  ground,  or  making  the 
sign  of  the  Cross ;  and  you  are  not  to  abstain  from 
Communion.  You  ought  to  abide  quietly  and  con- 
tentedly in  this  prescribed  rule; — while  you  obey  it  you 
are  right  with  God  and  with  your  conscience,  and  it  is 
not  your  business  to  sit  in  judgment  on  your  own  soul, 
so  long  as  you  strive  to  serve  God  humbly  according 
to  the  instructions  you  receive  in  His  Name. 

"  Let  your  Communions  be  very  humble.  Make 
them  not  for  yourself  but  for  God's  Glory,  for  His  Hon- 
our on  earth,  for  the  good  of  the  Church  and  the  souls 
He  loves.  You  are  one  in  the  Body  of  our  Dear  Lord, 
of  His  Mother,  of  all  the  Saints,  and  as  such  you  must 
work  with  them.  You  must  strive  to  enter  into  their 
mind,  and  seek  to  live  their  life.  Cast  off  self  to  do 
this,  and  by  degrees  you  will  do  it  more  readily.  Let 
it  be  done  cheerfully,  and  with  a  full  dedication  to 
God"1 

Writing  to  one  who  complained  of  his  inward  per- 
plexities, Pere  de  Condren  says : 
1  Lcttres,  Ixxx. 


DE  CONDREWS  LTFE  AND  LETTERS.         99 

"  May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  ever  with  you,  and 
vouchsafe  you  the  strength  and  support  which  you 
need  in  His  service.  Give  yourself  to  Him  con- 
fidently, and  rest  assured  that  all  the  little  cares  which 
trouble  you  will  turn  to  your  salvation.  If  you  can 
help  it,  try  not  to  heed  them  ;  accustoming  yourself  to 
perform  every  action  in  that  measure  of  grace  and 
strength  which  God  wills  to  give  you,  rather  than 
dwelling  upon  the  hindrances  with  which  you  are 
tempted,  and  which  will  vanish  as  soon  as  you  cease 
to  need  them.  We  are  nothing  and  can  do  nothing 
of  ourselves,  and  consequently  it  is  a  favour  from  God 
when  He  permits  you  to  realise  your  own  powerless- 
ness  and  your  absolute  need  of  His  Help  in  your 
most  ordinary  actions.  You  should  thank  Him  for  so 
doing,  and  rejoice  that  you  are  constrained  by  your 
own  poverty  to  do  all  things  through  the  abundance  of 
His  riches. 

"  Be  quite  sure  that  since  God  permits  the  tempta- 
tion, He  will  also  supply  help,  and  as  it  is  His  Will 
that  you  stand  in  special  need  of  Him,  He  is  sure  not 
to  fail  you.  His  Word  is  true,  and  it  tells  us  that  He 
is  ever  with  His  children  in  the  hour  of  trial  and  will 
not  suffer  them  to  be  tempted  above  that  they  are 
able;  that  we  can  do  all  things  to  which  we  are 
called,  in  the  strength  of  His  Spirit.  Therefore  it 
behoves  you  to  give  yourself  up  to  Him  in  perfect 


TOO  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANC  K. 

confidence,  and  so  to  fulfil  all  your  duties,  whether 
towards  God  or  man,  towards  the  public  as  an  official, 
or  towards  your  own  family,  as  freely  and  fully  as  if 
you  had  the  most  vivid  consciousness  of  that  uphold- 
ing Grace ;  and  that  because  faith  gives  us  so  much 
more  certain  assurance  than  even  our  own  sense  and 
experience  can  give.  I  would  far  rather  know  by 
God's  own  Promise  that  His  Help  is  ever  present, 
and  that  He  wills  me  to  live  by  His  Holy  Spirit,  and 
be  led  by  His  Grace,  than  merely  to  feel  it  to  be  so, 
and  realise  His  Guiding  Hand  by  my  own  conscious- 
ness. My  own  feeling  and  experience  might  be 
deceived,  and  might  mislead  me,  but  God  is  Infallible, 
and  where  He  speaks,  our  reason  and  senses  have  no 
further  claim  to  be  heard.  The  purer  His  Grace,  the 
less  it  becomes  mingled  with  our  senses;  the  more 
Divine,  the  more  incomprehensible — it  should  suffice 
us  to  believe,  and  to  act  in  that  strength  without 
aiming  at  an  earthly  appreciation  thereof. 

"As  to  your  Communions,  do  not  fail  to  commu- 
nicate on  Festivals,  Sundays,  and  Thursdays,  and 
from  time  to  time,  when  no  festival  occurs  during  the 
week,  on  Saturday.  Under  your  present  inconvenient 
circumstances,  if  your  communions  have  to  be  dimin- 
ished, accept  the  privation  in  union  with  the  many 
privations  borne  in  this  world  by  the  Son  of  God  and 
His  blessed  Mother;  borne,  as  these  chiefly  were, 


DB  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.      '  itol 

because  they  would  not  rise  beyond  the  ordinary 
level  of  those  around  them.  In  the  same  spirit  of 
reverence  for  that  state  of  privation,  you  might  some- 
times profitably  deprive  yourself  of  something,  but  it 
must  be  done  in  complete  secrecy,  and  without  being 
known  to  the  world,  or  God  would  not  have  His  part 
therein. 

"  I  am  very  glad  that  you  are  satisfied  with 
M.  A.,1  and  to  hear  of  her  goodness  and  her  useful- 
ness among  the  poor.  If  you  had  not  told  me  what 
she  does,  I  should  have  known  nothing  about  it,  for 
she  does  not  tell  me  when  she  writes.  Still,  if  there 
should  be  any  threat  of  plague  or  other  epidemic,  you 
must  forbid  her  to  go  into  it  at  once.  But  so  far  as 
the  wounded  and  ordinary  sick  are  concerned,  it  is  a 
good  work  to  minister  to  them,  and  God  will  reward 
both  her  for  doing  it,  and  you  for  allowing  her  to  do 
so,  and  for  taking  pleasure  in  her  good  works. 

"  I  am  most  affectionately  and  always  yours."2  .  .  . 

The  same  lesson — of  preferring  faith  to  feeling — is 
continually  pressed  home  in  his  letters.  It  is  forcibly 
expressed  again  as  follows  to  a  friend  : — 

"May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  your  Life,  your 

Guide,  and  your  Strength,  in  all  your  ways,  and  in  all 

the  works   He  may  be  pleased  to  commit  to  you. 

Never  pause  to  dwell  on  whatever  you  feel  in  yourself 

1  His  wile.  *  Lettres,  No.  Ixxxi. 


*  Di  PKILSTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

of  weakness  or  of  strength,  of  light  or  of  darkness,  but 
live  on  in  that  simple  faith,  of  which  the  apostle  speaks 
when  he  says,  'the  just  shall  live  by  faith,'  without 
squandering  your  energies  in  analyzing  feelings  and 
the  like.  Do  not  imagine  yourself  to  be  weak  because 
you  feel  weak,  or  strong  because  you  feel  strong. 
S.  Peter  believed  himself  to  be  strong,  but  was  weak 
when  the  Son  of  God  warned  him  that  '  the  spirit  is 
ready  but  the  flesh  is  weak;'  and  S.  Paul  believed 
himself  to  be  weak,  though  he  was  strong  when 
he  said,  '  when  I  am  weak  then  am  I  strong '  (2  Cor. 
xii.  10). 

"  God  sees  and  judges  us  truly,  but  as  to  our  feelings 
and  judgments  concerning  ourselves,  the  only  thing 
we  can  be  sure  of  in  them  is,  that  we  ought  not  to 
trust  to  them.  However  weak  we  may  feel,  we  ought 
firmly  to  believe  that  His  Divine  Grace  will  suffice  us 
for  life  and  holiness,  and  remembering  this  we  should 
go  boldly  at  whatsoever  He  sets  before  us  or  calls  us 
to  do,  and  in  like  manner,  however  vigorous  or  fervent 
we  may  feel,  we  must  remember  S.  Peter's  words, 
'nolitc  percgrinari  in  fervor ej*  but  walk  in  that  faith 
which  promises  us  that  we  can  do  all  things  in  Him 
Who  strengtheneth  us.  Amid  his  manifold  tribula- 

'  i  S.  Peter  iv.  12.  The  English  does  not  convey  quite  the 
same  meaning  as  the  words  quoted  by  de  Condren  from  the 
Vulgate. 


DE  CONbREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         103 

tions  S.  Paul  appealed  to  God,  and  the  answer  he 
received  was  that  we  have  nought  in  us  save  death; 
we  live  under  its  sentence;  of  ourselves  we  have  only 
condemnation,  helplessness,  inutility,  in  order  that 
all  our  trust  may  be  in  Him  Which  raiseth  the  dead. 
'  We  had  the  sentence  of  death  in  ourselves,  that  we 
should  not  trust  in  ourselves,  but  in  God  Which  raiseth 
the  dead,  Who  delivered  us  from  so  great  a  death, 
and  doth  deliver,  in  Whom  we  trust  that  He  will  yet 
deliver  us'  (2  Cor.  i.  9,  10).  Study  the  whole  of 
this  passage ;  it  will  comfort  you.  Give  yourself  up  to 
Him  Which  raiseth  the  dead,  so  that  through  His 
Divine  Grace  you  may  be  able  to  fulfil  all  your  duties, 
both  those  which  come  upon  you  from  without,  and 
those  which  God's  Providence  has  laid  upon  you 
within  your  family  and  yourself.  Pray  for  me."1 

Again,    to    one    suffering    under    temptation,    he 
writes, — 

"  I  have  read  your  letter  very  carefully.  Of  a  truth 
it  kindles  my  pity,  not  so  much  because  of  the  mag- 
nitude of  your  trouble,  as  because  you  find  it  so  diffi- 
cult to  use  a  remedy,  which  in  itself  is  most  easy  and 
acceptable.  For  what  can  be  more  desirable  than  to 
live  in  our  Lord ;  what  more  to  be  wished  than  that 
you  might  be  drawn  from  these  vexing  thoughts  of 
temptation,  to  be  engrossed  with  so  holy  and  attractive 
LeUies,  No.  Ixxxiii, 


104  PRIES 'TL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

an  object  ?  And  what  can  be  more  annoying  than  to 
be  distracted  from  peaceful  happy  thoughts  of  our 
Dear  Lord,  and  find  ourselves  plunged  in  troubles  and 
worries  which  disperse  such  slender  devotional  powers 
as  we  may  possess,  and  make  our  service  of  God  so 
difficult  ?  You  know  so  well  by  experience  that  no- 
thing relieves  you  so  much  as  opening  your  heart  to 
some  one  who  loves  you ; — why  ?  except  that  in  so 
doing  you  cease  to  dwell  and  brood  over  yourself  and 
that  which  hinders  you  ?  But  most  assuredly  no  one 
loves  your  soul  half  so  much  as  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
He  is  All-Powerful  to  help  you.  No  one  else  can 
help  you,  save  through  Him,  but  He  can  help  you 
alone ;  and  be  quite  sure  that  if  you  pour  out  your 
heart  and  commune  with  Him,  you  will  find  wonderful 
relief.  I  can  quite  believe  that  at  first  you  will  find 
some  difficulty,  and  that  your  mind  will  relapse  into 
the  train  of  thought  which  is  most  habitual  to  it — you 
have  acquired  a  habit,  your  mind  has  got  a  warp 
which  cannot  be  overcome  all  at  once,  but  by  degrees 
you  will  succeed  with  God's  Grace.  He  will  not  fail 
to  bear  the  heaviest  weight  of  your  trouble,  and  to 
draw  you  gently  to  Him.  Let  Him  do  His  Will; 
let  yourself  be  drawn ; — and  when  you  feel  that  you 
have  fallen  into  your  old  troubles,  make  a  vigorous 
effort  to  rouse  yourself  by  fixing  your  mind  on  some 
good  thought.  Picture  Him  as  stretching  out  His 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        IO$ 

Arms  to  you,  offering  you  His  Help,  calling  you  to 
hold  converse  with  Him ;  and  longing,  far  beyond 
anything  you  can  imagine,  that  you  should  dwell  in 
Him  and  He  in  you.  You  have  a  thousand  individual 
reasons  for  believing  all  this  as  concerns  yourself, 
independently  of  what  He  has  done  for  the  whole 
world  by  His  Incarnation,  His  Labour,  His  Passion. 
I  want  you  rather  to  dwell  on  what  you  have  seen 
and  felt  yourself.  You  have  often  confessed  to  me — 
and  indeed  we  may  both  say  the  same, — that  our 
Lord  has  done  more  for  you  in  certain  ways  than  you 
would  wish  ;  that  He  has  given  you  greater  grace  and 
power  to  mortify  your  natural  self,  than  you  would 
have  chosen  if  left  to  yourself.  Surely  here  is  a  proof 
that  our  Dear  Lord  cares  more  for  your  welfare  than 
you  do  yourself.  I  realise  this  in  myself  too  well  not 
to  be  sure  that  it  is  so  with  you  and  many  others. 
Besides,  how  many  mercies  He  has  dealt  to  you, 
which  you  little  recked  of !  All  the  evil  we  do  not 
commit,  all  the  temptations  to  which  we  do  not  con- 
sent, or  which  never  visit  us  ; — all  our  holy  thoughts 
and  good  intentions,  all  our  longings  after  that  which 
is  right,  are  so  many  witnesses  of  His  Loving  Kind- 
ness towards  us ; — for  faith  teaches  us  that  without 
Him  we  can  do  nothing.  How  could  He  help  you 
thus  unless  He  cared  for  you?  Surely  all  this  not 
merely  proves,  but  must  press  home  to  your  heart, 


!o6  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

that  our  Lord  cares  for  you,  and  that  He  cares  for 
you  more  than  you  care  for  yourself.  If  sometimes 
thoughts  of  an  opposite  kind  beset  you,  drive  them 
away  as  presumptuous,  unreal,  and  harmful.  They 
are  but  some  of  the  lies  which  tempt  those  who  give 
heed  to  them  ; — they  generally  come  before  the  mind 
when  it  is  troubled  by  some  temptation,  just  as 
dazzling  sparks  flit  before  a  man's  eyes  under  the 
influence  of  a  stunning  blow.  Judge  any  such  mis- 
givings as  you  would  judge  of  such  lights,  arising 
from  a  mere  accident,  and  deceitful  accordingly. 

"  Remember  how  often  you  make  mistakes  as  to 
your  fellow-men,  and  how  many  unfair  hasty  judgments 
you  make  concerning  them.  Well  then,  be  sure  that  it 
is  not  concerning  your  neighbours  only  that  we  come 
to  hasty  conclusions — we  do  the  same  with  respect  to 
God  Himself,  and  that  not  unfrequently,  because  we 
do  not  sufficiently  submit  our  minds  to  His  direction. 
So  too  we  make  mistakes  with  respect  to  ourselves, 
one  while  judging  ourselves  as  better,  another  time  as 
worse  than  we  really  are,  owing  to  the  very  scanty 
knowledge  which  we  really  possess  of  ourselves  and 
of  God's  Grace  working  in  us.  But  indeed,  our 
faulty  judgment  is  too  recognised  a  fact  to  need  more 
words.  Only  bear  in  mind  how  often  it  has  misled 
you,  and  beware  of  it.  Open  the  eyes  of  your  mind, 
and  be  sure  that  unless  our  Lord  cared  for  you, 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        107 

He  would  not  sustain  your  life,  He  would  not  pre- 
serve you  from  the  Evil  One;  He  would  not  have 
given  me  the  power  or  the  will  to  help  you.  There 
is  no  love  save  that  which  comes  from  the  Son  of 
God;  if  then  you  believe  that  your  relations,  your 
friends,  your  confessors — that  I  myself  care  for  you, 
you  must  own  that  He  has  taught  us  to  do  so,  and 
therefore  that  He  cares  for  you,  and  cares  far  more 
than  I  or  the  best  of  friends  or  relations  can  do.  I 
know  that  you  believe  all  this,  and  I  am  not  urging  it 
in  order  to  make  you  believe,  but  rather  because  I 
want  you  to  bring  it  to  bear  upon  your  mistaken 
feelings,  and  so  measure  their  deceptive  character 
fairly. 

"I  had  almost  forgotten  to  answer  you  concerning 
the  austerities  you  have  a  mind  to  practise.  But  I 
should  reckon  the  thought  to  be  a  delusion  of  the  Evil 
One,  if  by  austerities  you  mean  fasting,  or  anything 
calculated  to  diminish  your  bodily  strength,  which 
is  already  very  insufficient ;  indeed,  your  temptations 
arise  partly  from  physical  weakness,  and  to  add  to 
that  would  be  a  sure  way  of  increasing  those  tempta- 
tions. In  imposing  very  little  of  penance  upon  you, 
I  had  in  view  that  your  ailments  would  partly  supply 
what  was  lacking,  and  an  exact  obedience  to  your 
rules  do  the  rest.  If  I  could  have  given  you  strength 
of  body  and  mind  instead  of  any  penance,  I  would 


roS  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

gladly  have  done  so,  for  knowing  how  feebly  you 
observe  the  obligations  which  already  bind  you,  I  do 
not  think  it  well  to  lay  anything  fresh  upon  you. 
As  you  think  your  malady  so  serious,  you  certainly 
ought  not  to  seek  any  further  penitential  practices, 
especially  what  might  make  you  worse,  and  lessen 
your  power  of  bearing  it,  and  of  keeping  your  rule. 
Believe  me,  your  penance  henceforth  is  to  bear  your 
malady  in  patience,  offering  it  to  our  Lord  in  peni- 
tence, and  as  an  atonement  for  your  faults. 

"  By  your  malady,  I  mean  all  that  you  suffer,  espe- 
cially your  temptations  and  your  spiritual  difficulties. 
Pray,  then,  get  rid  of  this  injudicious  desire  for  austeri- 
ties, and  devote  yourself  to  the  Humanity  of  our 
Lord,  as  I  said  before.  Use  Da  Ponte  as  a  founda- 
tion for  your  meditations  on  that  Sacred  Humanity, 
and  keep  the  results  in  mind  all  through  the  day, 
above  all  when  any  temptation  tries  you.  Take  one 
subject  every  morning,  and  think  it  over  as  often  as 
you  are  able  through  the  day.  This  does  not  require 
any  lengthy  meditation.  I  mean  you  to  keep  your  mind 
filled  with  a  loving  remembrance  of  the  Divine  Man- 
hood, as  seen  in  whatever  mystery  you  have  chosen 
for  consideration.  This  is  the  way  to  overcome 
temptation,  humbling  yourself  in  His  Holy  Presence, 
and  confessing  that  in  Him  lies  all  your  strength; 
but  I  would  never  have  you  argue  with  your  tempta- 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         109 


tions.  Indeed,  I  desire  you  never  even  to  listen  to 
them,  under  any  pretext,  but  rather  turn  aside  in  acts 
of  adoration,  humiliation,  love,  or  what  you  will, 
towards  our  Lord.  This  I  believe  to  be  what  is 
necessary  for  you.  Make  continuous  efforts  always  to 
represent  our  Saviour  to  yourself  as  Loving,  full  of 
compassion,  bearing  your  cross  and  beckoning  you  to 
Him.  Never  dwell  on  the  thought  of  Him  as  your 
Judge,  or  under  any  severe  aspect  \  so  long  as  we  live 
and  can  repent,  He  is  our  Advocate.  Do  not  torture 
yourself  needlessly.  Avoid  terrifying  subjects  of 
meditation ;  let  your  soul  feed  upon  your  Dear  Lord, 
in  Whom  Alone  you  will  find  the  true  remedy  for  all 
your  temptations,  the  thought  of  His  Love  for  you. 
Shun  dwelling  upon  yourself  and  your  own  offences 
as  you  would  shun  hell.  Nobody  should  ever  dwell 
on  these  save  in  humiliation,  and  in  love  to  the  Lord, 
Who  has  refrained  from  their  immediate  chastisement 
and  has  waited  for  the  culprit's  repentance.  Look 
upon  yourself  certainly  as  a  sinner — of  a  truth  there 
are  many  Saints  now  in  Heaven  who  have  been 
sinners.  That  should  be  enough  for  you." 

On  the  same  subject : — 

"  The  temptations  which  you  are  bearing  are  not 
intended  to  overwhelm  you,  but  to  humble  you,  to 
teach  you  patience,  and  to  constrain  you  to  seek  God, 
more  than  hitherto.  These  are  the  three  uses  to 


/  ro  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

which  you  should  turn  your  trials,  instead  of  the  dis- 
couragement and  depression  to  which  you  seem  to  be 
giving  way.  I  recommend  you,  in  order  to  gather 
more  strength  under  your  troubles  from  the  Lord,  to 
ask  leave  to  spend  a  quarter  of  an  hour  daily  before 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  in  honour  of  His  Forty  Days 
in  the  wilderness,  when  He  vouchsafed  to  be  tempted 
for  our  sake.  If  your  health  will  not  admit  of  this 
extra  devotion,  you  can  take  it  out  of  your  usual  time 
of  meditation.  Try  therein  to  adore  the  Son  of  God, 
and  intreat  Him  to  take  charge  of  your  soul  when 
under  temptation,  claim  His  All-powerful  Help,  con- 
fessing your  own  helplessness,  and  then  give  yourself 
up  wholly  to  Him,  for  what  can  hell  itself  do  against 
His  Grace?  Be  at  peace  under  the  shelter  of  His 
Wings.  The  Apostle  tells  the  Romans  that  there  is 
no  condemnation  for  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus 
(Rom.  viii.  i).  Strive  to  be  in  Christ  Jesus  then,  so 
that  temptation  and  the  power  of  sin  may  have  no 
hold  upon  you.  You  will  be  in  Him  if  you  renounce 
yourself,  sin  and  all  else,  in  order  to  be  solely  His, 
giving  yourself  sincerely  to  Him.  I  beseech  Him  of 
His  Grace  to  grant  you  this  in  the  spirit  of  faith — it 
is  your  true  remedy. 

"  In  the  next  place,  humble  yourself  as  the  greatest 
sinner  in  the  world  ;  the  vilest  not  only  in  your  house, 
but  in  all  the  earth ;  as  deserving  to  be  given  up  to 


DE  CONDREtfS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         in 

your  sins,  as  meriting  nothing  save  the  evil  thoughts 
which  beset  you.  For  in  truth,  if  God  were  strictly 
just  both  to  you  and  me,  we  should  have  nothing 
better  than  such  thoughts  as  those  of  the  lost,  among 
whom  we  deserve  to  be. 

"  Thirdly,  accept  from  God's  Hand  all  the  distress 
which  these  temptations  cause  you  as  a  punishment 
for  your  past  sins,  and  in  honour  of  the  Sufferings  of 
the  Son  of  God  in  His  Life  and  His  Death,  asking 
Him  to  enable  you  to  do  this  sincerely.  If  your 
mind  should  be  so  disturbed  that  you  cannot  repress 
its  temptations,  make  these  acts  aloud,  or  use  some 
other  vocal  prayers  to  the  same  end.  Be  very  care- 
ful in  all  your  confessions,  to  offer  the  shame  of  your 
faults  in  honour  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Who  vouch- 
safed to  bear  the  shame  of  sins  which  He  had  not 
committed  on  the  Cross.  I  believe,  indeed  I  am 
sure,  that  you  think  yourself  faulty  in  many  things 
without  such  being  really  the  case — but  till  we  meet, 
I  can  give  you  no  better  counsel  than  this.  So  do 
not  be  weary  of  bearing  the  reproach  of  sin  with  our 
Dear  Lord,  He  on  His  Cross  and  you  in  confession, 
as  far  as  your  confessors  allow — for  the  more  you  can 
humble  yourself  in  confession,  the  greater  will  be 
your  strength  in  temptation. 

"  Take  delight  in  your  work  as  far  as  obedience  and 
your  bodilv  strength  permit  of,  but  in  beginning  each 


1 12  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

action  offer  it,  by  some  short  mental  aspiration,  in 
honour  of  Christ  Crucified.  You  should  leave  to  Him 
the  care  of  your  salvation,  while  your  part  is  to  do  or 
bear,  for  His  Sake,  whatever  comes  to  hand ;  so  doing 
you  may  rest  satisfied  that  He  will  not  forsake  you. 

"  I  give  you  as  large  a  share  as  I  can  of  my  prayers 
and  devotions,  and  I  ask  our  Dear  Lord  to  give  you 
more  and  more  effectually  than  I  can  do.  I  ask  to 
share  in  your  spiritual  troubles,  a  portion  which  I 
count  as  more  precious  than  anything  which  I  can 
give  you.  S.  Paul  says  that  it  is  a  great  thing  to 
suffer  for  God's  Sake — a  dignity  which  the  world 
knows  not,  because  it  is  not  of  the  world.  May  you 
receive  its  blessing  on  earth,  and  its  crown  in 
Heaven." « 

The  two  following  letters  are  singularly  adapted  to 
help  that  class  of  minds  who  are  inclined  to  confuse 
temptation  and  sin,  and  to  feel  miserable  and  guilty 
because  they  are  sorely  tempted,  though  all  the  time 
they  are  earnestly  resisting  the  temptations. 

"  I  beseech  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  with  you 
in  the  perfection  of  His  Holy  Love,  and  in  that 
blessed  union  to  work  out  His  Own  Glory  and  your 
salvation,  as  indeed  I  trust  He  will  do  of  His  Infinite 
Mercy. 

"  There  are  one  or  two  things  I  would  say  to  you. 
1  Lettres,  No.  xci. 


DE  COND KEN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         113 

And  first,  the  state  of  temptation  in  which  your  mind 
is  will  not  destroy  your  soul  j  I  tell  you  so  as  a  message 
from  God.  Therefore  you  must  patiently  bear  with 
these  thoughts  of  despair  or  reprobation,  and  not 
believe  in  them.  God  permits  the  lying  spirit  to  tor- 
ment you  with  such  thoughts  in  order  that  you  may 
'  sorrow  to  repentance  and  salvation,'  as  S.  Paul  says 
(2  Cor.  vii.  10).  Next,  I  want  to  say,  you  may  ask 
God  to  deliver  you  from  these  troubles,  if  it  is  His 
Will,  but  you  should  not  be  too  eager  about  obtaining 
deliverance  or  peace  of  mind,  nor  ask  it  too  urgently. 
Rather  resign  yourself  to  God's  Holy  Will ;  cling  to 
the  Cross  of  Christ  with  a  patient  heart,  entreat  Him  to 
uphold  you  in  this  path  of  sorrow  and  humiliation,  and 
be  content  if  He  wills  to  keep  you  in  it  all  your  life. 

"  Lastly,  as  a  rule,  the  sins  of  thought  of  which  you 
believe  yourself  guilty  are  not  sins  ; — they  are  rather 
the  result  of  a  wile  of  the  Evil  One,  who  disturbs  your 
mind,  and  makes  you  imagine  that  you  are  entertaining 
thoughts,  which  in  fact  you  are  only  enduring  for  His 
Sake  Who  bore  our  sins,  without  committing  any  of  them 
or  being  touched  by  their  guilt  Be  sure  that  God, 
looking  on  you  lovingly,  as  following  in  His  Dear  Son's 
Footsteps,  is  often  pitying  and  blessing  you  when  you 
condemn  yourself  most  severely.  Not  that  I  would 
have  you  cease  to  know  yourself  to  be  sinful,  or 
to  humble  and  confess  yourself.  The  hidden  judg- 


i 14  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


ment  of  God  to  which  I  allude  does  not  exempt  you 
from  the  duties  of  penitence ; — it  leaves  the  cross  and 
burden  of  sin,  without  the  malice  thereof,  through  the 
Merits  of  the  Son  of  God,  Who  bore  our  griefs  and 
carried  our  sorrows,  as  the  Prophet  Isaiah  and  S. 
Paul  tell  us,  only  without  spot  or  stain  of  sin.  At  the 
same  time  let  your  words  in  confession  be  few  and 
simple ;  diffuseness  and  dwelling  on  such  things  have 
an  unfortunate  tendency  to  renew  their  attacks.  You 
say  that  you  often  cannot  remember  these  temptations 
in  confession — probably  that  is  because  God  conceals 
them  from  your  mind,  which  is  inclined  to  dwell  over- 
much upon  them.  Be  sincere  and  simple  in  confes- 
sion, and  when  it  is  made  do  not  begin  tormenting 
yourself  as  to  how  it  has  been  done."1 

"There  is  no  reason  to  be  disheartened  by  the 
distressing  state  of  mind  you  are  in  just  now.  It  is 
rather  a  reason  to  have  more  earnest  recourse  to  God, 
Who  is  the  strength  of  the  weak,  and  Who  has  pro- 
mised His  Help  in  every  time  of  need.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  you  are  not  guilty  of  the  faults  you  imagine 
owing  to  your  mental  condition — so  do  not  be  troubled 
or  give  up  your  ordinary  devotions,  and  keep  to 
your  rules  as  to  confession.  Thus,  do  not  confess 
yourself  guilty  of  consenting  to  these  evil  suggestions 
unless  you  are  sure  that  you  gave  way  to  them  deliber- 
*  Lcttres,  No.  xciL 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        115 

ately  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  While  I  am  satisfied 
that  even  when  you  think  you  have  consented  to  them 
you  are  rather  under  a  delusion  than  really  guilty,  still 
I  would  rather  counsel  you  to  subject  yourself  to  a 
considerable  extent  to  the  humiliation  of  confession 
— such  humiliation  is  one  of  the  fruits  which  God 
causes  to  grow  from  out  temptation. 

"Of  course  you  should  not  justify  yourself,  but 
rather  accuse  yourself  before  God,  and  only  make  use 
of  what  I  say  in  order  to  avoid  being  discouraged ; — 
we  must  always  humble  ourselves  before  God.  Still, 
as  the  tendency  of  these  temptations  is  not  so  much 
to  make  you  offend  Him,  as  to  harass  yourself  with 
scruples,  and  as  you  are  disposed  to  give  way  to  an 
unreasonable  distress,  it  is  better  for  you  not  to  dwell 
upon  your  temptations  or  confess  them,  unless  you 
have  distinctly  parleyed  with  them  as  before  said. 
Neither  would  I  have  you  tire  yourself  out  with  acts 
of  resistance.  One  of  the  objects  of  the  Enemy  is  to 
injure  your  health  and  weaken  you  so  that  you  may 
be  a  still  easier  prey.  You  can  see  how  incapable  your 
increased  headaches  make  you.  Therefore,  while  your 
faith  in  God's  Help  grows  stronger,  it  is  not  desirable 
that  you  add  to  your  external  acts  of  devotion  towards 
Him.  When  temptation  arises,  offer  yourself  to  your 
Lord  and  His  Glory,  by  bearing  whatsoever  He  will, 
with  a  firm  faith  that  He  will  help  you  better  than 


1 16  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

man  or  Angel,  however  loving,  for  God  is  Love  itself; 
— and  with  full  confidence  that  He  is  as  well  able  to 
lead  you  through  darkness  as  light,  through  temptation 
as  through  peace  and  tranquillity. 

"  We  are  apt  to  condemn  ourselves  at  the  very 
moment  when  most  justified  of  God ;  and  when  we 
are  best  satisfied  with  ourselves  perhaps  He  condemns 
us.  You  may  not  be  able  to  find  comfort  in  doing 
as  I  bid  you,  but  nevertheless  persevere.  If  one  feels 
unable  to  make  an  interior  act  before  God,  it  is  well 
to  make  it  verbally,  and  as  I  have  often  told  you,  to 
do  that  in  a  spirit  of  faith  which  we  are  not  able  to  do 
as  a  matter  of  feeling.  Besides,  when  you  have  fulfilled 
your  duty  to  God,  you  ought  to  turn  from  your  troubles, 
and  put  aside  these  excessive  fears  which  cramp  and 
weaken  your  spiritual  life,  rather  giving  yourself  up  to 
your  Lord,  Who  Alone  can  save  you.  You  know  well 
enough  that  you  cannot  save  yourself — all  you  can  do 
is  to  weary  yourself  in  vain,  and  make  yourself  ill." x 

Many  of  Pere  de  Condren's  letters  are  eminently 
practical,  and  enter  with  minute  detail  into  the 
spiritual  life, — e.g.  the  following  on  self-examination  : 

"  We  ought  to  make  three  daily  self-examinations, 
of  which   the   chief  is   that  in   the   evening,  which 
should  be  made  before  the  Son  of  God  as  a  con- 
fession.     Three  things  are  to  be  attended  to  in  this. 
1   Lettres,  No.  ixxxvi. 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        117 

"  First,  that  we  adore  the  Son  of  God  in  His 
capacity  of  Judge,  because  He  it  is  that  will  judge 
us,  and  we  must  not  wait  till  death  to  meet  Him  as 
such.  Love  and  faithfulness  constrain  us  to  do  now 
what  then  we  shall  have  to  do  as  a  necessity — there- 
fore let  us  lay  bare  our  conscience  to  Him  now  and 
await  His  Judgment. 

"  Secondly,  we  must  adore  Hirr>  as  Priest — for  He 
is  not  only  our  Judge,  but  our  High  Priest,  to  Whom 
we  are  bound  to  confess  our  sins  and  give  account 
for  the  day  past.  To  this  end  we  must  ask  the  aid 
of  His  Light,  that  we  may  see  plainly  wherein  we 
have  displeased  Him  during  the  day;  for  our  own 
light  is  insufficient  to  shew  us  all  the  faults  we 
have  committed,  above  all,  in  the  supernatural  life. 
There  are  many  reasons  for  earnestly  asking  this 
Light,  one  of  the  foremost  being  our  blindness 
to  our  own  faults,  which  faults  our  self-love  conceals, 
our  ignorance  omits,  and  our  weakness  extenuates. 
Having  asked  this  light,  the  next  thing  is  to  make 
a  general  review  of  the  day's  actions,  looking  at 
our  omissions  rather  from  our  Dear  Lord's  point 
of  view  than  from  our  own.  It  is  well  to  observe 
that,  in  making  this  review,  we  ought  not  to  dwell 
specially  upon  our  good  works,  even  in  thanksgiving. 
There  are  always  blemishes  in  them,  and  we  have  no 
right  to  judge  them  to  be  wholly  good — for  the 


1 18  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Church  herself  has  no  commission  to  make  any  such 
individual  judgments  before  the  Second  Coming  of 
the  Son  of  God.  At  the  same  time,  in  order  to 
avoid  ingratitude,  we  should  thank  God  for  His 
Infinite  Grace  and  Goodness  as  given  to  each  one 
of  us. 

"Next,  we  should  make  an  act  of  contrition,  or 
sorrow  for  sin,  because  it  is  displeasing  to  God.  Then 
give  ourselves  absolutely  to  Jesus  Christ,  for  the 
coming  night  especially,  and  for  the  morrow  and  our 
whole  life,  that  He  may  fulfil  all  His  Holy  Will  in  us, 
and  do  with  us  what  He  pleases,  so  that  we  may  be 
tools  in  His  Hand  to  obey  and  serve  Him  perfectly. 
If,  during  such  self-examination,  we  feel  perplexed 
after  having  done  all  that  lies  in  our  power,  it  is  well 
to  ask  our  Guardian  Angel  to  adore  the  Son  of  God 
as  our  Judge,  and  to  be  our  accuser  before  Him,  so 
that  nothing  may  be  left  unsaid  or  unforgiven. 

"  The  morning  examination  should  be  no  less  care- 
fully made  than  this  at  night,  since  while  one  helps  to 
correct  our  past  faults,  the  other  warns  and  forearms 
us  against  those  into  which  we  are  liable  to  fall.  God 
has  given  us  memory  to  deal  with  the  past,  and  fore- 
sight for  the  future.  To  us  it  appertains  to  use  both 
rightly;  our  memory  to  give  God  Glory,  and  strive  to 
destroy  the  work  of  sin  in  us ;  foresight  to  consider 
how  we  can  spend  the  day  now  beginning  better  than 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        119 

its  predecessors,  so  that  each  day  may  tend  to  raise 
the  whole  tone  of  our  life. 

"In  this  examination  we  must  again  adore  our 
Lord  as  the  very  Principle  of  our  life  and  actions, 
since  without  Him  we  can  do  nothing  that  is  good  or 
acceptable  to  God.  In  this  capacity  there  are  three 
points  to  be  considered : — 

"  I.  His  dominion  and  right  over  whatever  we  do. 
Everything  is  His,  our  days,  our  minutes,  and  all  our 
powers,  our  body  and  all  its  members,  our  actions 
and  labours ;  for  we  have  nothing  save  through  His 
Favour ;  and,  '  Ye  are  not  your  own,'  S.  Paul  says. 

"II.  The  light,  guidance  and  direction  He  will 
give  us.  Since  all  our  actions  are  His,  He  will  guide 
us  to  fulfil  His  intention  and  desire.  And 

"  III.  The  grace,  strength  and  power,  with  which 
He  will  enable  us  to  do  all  perfectly  through  Himself. 
'I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strength- 
eneth  me,'  S.  Paul  says. 

"  Now,  in  order  to  do  all  this  faithfully,  we  must 
begin  by  giving  ourselves  to  our  Dear  Lord,  and 
dedicate  all  our  most  trifling  duties  to  Him ;  we  must 
renounce  all  self-guidance  for  His  only;  we  must  ask 
grace  and  strength  from  Him  to  fulfil  His  Will. 
Then  we  must  glance  over  the  duties  of  the  day, 
with  a  view  to  fulfilling  them  better  and  more  earnestly, 
and  it  is  well  to  do  the  same  with  respect  to  our  devo- 


1 20  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  1AT  FRANCE. 

tional  exercises.  It  is  well,  too,  briefly  to  foresee  such 
occasions  of  falling  as  may  be  likely  to  arise,  so  as  to 
prepare  ourselves  to  meet  them,  and  be  armed  with 
remedies,  beseeching  our  Lord  that  we  fall  not. 

"  The  mid-day  examination  differs  from  that  made 
at  night,  wherein  we  come  before  our  Lord  as  Judge; 
for  in  this  we  honour  Him  as  the  Head  of  Which  we 
are  members,  as  our  Life-Giver,  the  Ruling  Spirit  of 
all  we  do.  In  the  evening  examination  we  should  go 
into  our  sins  against  God's  Law ;  in  this  at  mid-day 
examining  what  faults  we  have  committed  in  that 
inner  life,  and  in  our  Christian  vocation,  which  calls 
for  so  great  watchfulness.  We  must  see  whether  all 
our  actions  have  been  done  in  a  right  spirit,  whether 
they  have  been  guided  by  His  Holy  Will,  whether  we 
have  acted  up  to  the  inspirations  God  has  given  us, 
specially  in  the  particular  points  which  we  feel  that 
He  sets  before  us  in  our  way,  as  also  what  have  been 
our  shortcomings  in  those  respects.  It  is  well  to  take 
some  two  or  three  points  week  by  week,  such  as  self- 
abnegation  and  renunciation,  and  dependence  on 
God's  Holy  Spirit — going  on  the  next  week  to  what 
we  most  need  in  order  to  meditate  well,  and  so  on. 

"  In  all  this  consider  the  misuse  we  make  of  those 
tendencies  to  good  which  Jesus  Christ  has  given  us, 
how  we  reject  His  inspirations  and  fail  to  second  His 
impulses.  Again,  our  misuse  of  His  mysteries,  not 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         121 

honouring  Him  in  them  as  we  ought,  although  we  need 
diligently  to  study  them  with  a  view  to  obtain  special 
graces,  and  to  imitate  His  Virtues.  And  thirdly,  our 
negligence  in  not  making  a  worthy  and  sufficient  use 
of  our  Dear  Lord  ;  we  ought  to  live  in  and  by  Him,  a 
life  altogether  above  our  nature  and  our  natural  powers; 
— nothing  ought  to  seem  hard  or  impossible  to  be 
done  for  Him,  inasmuch  as  He  gives  us  His  Grace 
and  His  Holy  Spirit  so  abundantly  to  help  us  in  what- 
ever we  do.  Let  all  these  points  of  misused  grace  be 
duly  considered  in  your  self-examination."  * 

On  the  subject  of  Holy  Communion,  Pere  de  Con- 
dren  writes: — 

"We  must  come  to  it,  first,  in  order  that  Jesus 
Christ  may  be  All  in  us  that  He  should  be,  and  that 
we  may  cease  to  be  all  that  we  are,  losing  ourselves  in 
Him.  Secondly,  we  must  come  to  it  in  order  that 
He  may  destroy  whatever  in  us  is  contrary  to  God  the 
Father — the  old  Adam  and  his  sorrowful  heritage,  the 
reign  of  sin  and  Satan,  and  the  cruel  tyranny  of  self- 
love;  and  so  coming  we  must  ask  of -the  Divine 
Humanity  to  put  forth  the  Right  Hand  of  His  Justice, 
to  crucify  the  old  man  in  us  and  to  confirm  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Adorable  Trinity.  Our  imperfec- 
tions should  lead  us  to  seek  Communion,  as  the  one 
sovereign  remedy  for  their  healing. 
1  Lettres,  No.  Ixxxiii. 


122  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


11  Thirdly,  the  very  gifts  and  graces  which  it  has 
pleased  our  Lord  to  give  us  should  urge  us  to  Com- 
munion, so  that  we  should  not  imagine  them  to  be 
our  own,  or  use  them  according  to  our  own  blind 
self-love,  but  leave  Him  absolute  control  over 
them,  and  let  Him  use  them  after  His  Own  good 
pleasure. 

"  We  ought  to  come  to  Holy  Communion,  in  obedi- 
ence to  our  Dear  Lord's  Will  that  we  should  dwell  in 
Him  and  He  in  us ;  in  order  to  root  out  our  natural 
life  and  will,  and  to  become  what  He  is, — i.e.  life, 
truth,  love  and  holiness  to  God.  Moreover  we  ought 
to  come  to  it  out  of  obedience  to  His  desire  that 
we  should  be  His  members,  in  whom  He  may 
dwell  to  the  honour  and  glory  of  His  Father  in 
Heaven. 

"  While  our  own  spiritual  usefulness  may  rightly  be  a 
motive  for  frequent  Communion,  it  ought  not  to  be 
our  foremost  intention,  since  it  is  neither  the  best,  the 
most  urgent,  or  the  most  imperative.  First  of  all  we 
owe  obedience  to  our  Lord's  desire  to  receive  and 
to  possess  us — for  Holy  Communion  not  only  gives 
Jesus  Christ  to  us,  it  also  gives  us  to  Him,  even  as  He 
Himself  says,  whoso  receiveth  Him  abideth  in  Him. 
Now  this  desire  of  His  to  receive  us  is  as  wide  as  His 
Love; — as  the  rights  which  His  Merits  and  His  Mercy 
give  Him  over  us.  Therefore  it  becomes  a  grievous 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         123 

want  of  faithfulness  to  disappoint  His  gracious  desires, 
when  we  have  no  necessary  hindrance  from  Holy  Com- 
munion. 

"  S.  Paul  tells  us  that  we  are  the  Fulness  of  Jesus 
Christ,  Who  takes  us  into  Himself  and  grows  in  us  as 
the  members  of  His  Body.  This  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  soul  of  a  child,  which  does  not  grow  by  any 
increase  of  substance,  but  by  an  ever-increasing 
accession  of  light  which  enlarges  its  horizon,  its 
relative  position  towards  others,  and  its  own  sphere 
of  action,  in  proportion  as  the  child's  body  is  de- 
veloped, and  becomes  capable  of  serving  the  opera- 
tions  of  the  soul.  In  like  manner  with  Communion — 
Our  Lord  fills  us  therein  with  Himself,  and  develops 
His  own  Life  in  us,  and  we  do  Him  wrong  in  abstain- 
ing from  Communion,  unless  rightfully  withheld  from 
it,  and  for  due  cause. 

"  Then  again,  the  Son  of  God  is  not  content  with 
being  offered  to  His  Father  in  one  place  only,  He 
wills  to  be  so  offered  in  many,  and  although  His 
Sacrifice  is  One  and  unchangeable  in  reality,  He 
wills  it  to  be  continually  renewed  to  His  Father's 
Glory  in  a  certain  sense.  And  the  soul  which 
receives  Him  in  Holy  Communion  is  really  an  altar 
on  which  Jesus  Christ  lies  and  whereon  He  is  con- 
tinually offered  to  God,  not  only  in  will  and  intention, 
which  may  be  done  without  receiving  Him  sacra 


124  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

mentally,  but  in  very  truth  and  act  And  be  sure 
that  it  is  more  pleasing  to  Jesus  Christ  and  more  to 
God's  Glory  to  be  thus  offered  in  the  souls  He  loves 
than  on  all  the  Altars  in  Christendom. 

"There  are  sundry  other  reasons  why  we  should 
communicate  for  God's  Sole  Glory.  .  .  .  You  can- 
not give  yourself  too  often  to  Him ;  without  Him  we 
have  no  power  to  cast  off  the  yoke  of  self,  and  the 
sin  which  dwelleth  in  us  will  yield  to  none  save  Him- 
self, and  therefore  I  cannot  approve  of  your  dimin- 
ishing your  Communions.  Even  if  you  can  seek  His 
Help  without  that  Sacrament  which  He  instituted  on 
purpose  to  give  Himself  to  you,  you  are  infinitely 
more  sure  to  find  Him  in  the  means  which  He  has 
appointed  for  uniting  Himself  to  you,  and  for  working 
with  you  in  that  which  you  have  to  do  for  God. 
Surely  we  are  bound  to  seek  Him  in  the  way  wherein 
He  wills  to  be  found,  and  to  unite  ourselves  to  Him 
in  order  to  serve  God  more  faithfully  and  purely,  for 
of  a  truth  we  are  very  weak  without  Him.  So  too, 
we  must  go  to  Him  to  be  strengthened  against  the 
power  of  sin,  and  the  inclinations  of  the  old  man  in 
us,  which  can  never  be  subdued  without  Him.  We 
have  only  too  great  experience  of  our  own  weakness  ; 
we  need  truly  to  seek  Jesus  where  He  is,  and  to  unite 
ourselves  to  Him  in  order  to  do  that  which  without 
Him  we  cannot  do;  just  as  a  man  who  has  to  move 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        125 

a  weight  beyond  his  strength  goes  to  seek  another  to 
help  him. 

"  So  long  as  we  come  to  Holy  Communion  with  a 
full  feeling  of  our  own  weakness,  and  with  that  insight 
which  faith  gives  of  our  need  of  His  Strength  to  fight 
against  sin,  self,  the  world,  and  whatever  is  contrary  to 
God's  Will,  we  cannot  come  too  often.  No  indeed, 
he  cannot  come  too  often  who  is  led  by  the  sense  of 
his  own  helplessness  and  weakness  in  serving  God 
there  to  seek  strength  and  grace  in  Jesus  Christ  to  do 
better.  Frequent  Communion  is  only  to  be  feared 
when  one  is  secretly  influenced  in  coming  to  it  by  a 
good  opinion  of  one's-self,  or  by  a  lurking  impression 
that  one  is  better  than  others  because  one  com- 
municates more  frequently.  Then  indeed  hidden 
vanity  and  spiritual  pride  rule  us  and  cause  us  to  mis- 
use the  Blessed  Sacrament.  But  if  one  is  not  seek- 
ing any  mere  self-satisfaction,  if  one  communicates 
only  to  serve  God,  and  to  win  strength  against  sin 
and  selfishness, — with  a  view  to  praise  and  obey  God 
better,  not  from  any  rest  in  one's  own  goodness,  then 
one  need  not  be  afraid  to  approach  Him  very  fre- 
quently in  Holy  Communion.  May  our  Dear  Lord 
guide  you  in  this  as  in  all  else." x 

To  one  who  was  overwhelmed  with  weariness  and 
intolerance  of  self,  Pere  de  Condren  writes : — 
1  Letlres,  Nos.  Ixxvi.  and  Ixxvii. 


126  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

"  Judging  by  your  letters  I  think  you  are  giving 
way  overmuch  to  sadness,  and  that  you  are  not  using 
it  rightly  to  God's  Glory  and  the  good  of  your  own 
soul  So  far  from  being  a  hindrance  to  your  spiritual 
progress,  it  would  be  a  means  of  giving  God  glory,  if 
you  gave  yourself  up  to  Him  as  you  might  do.  When 
He  created  you,  He  knew  perfectly  that  He  had 
made  you  subject  to  this  weakness — He  did  it  in 
order  to  help  you  to  turn  away  from  and  reject  self,  in 
order  to  constrain  you  to  seek  all  your  rest  in  Him,  in 
order  that  this  very  inward  trial  should  be  borne  for 
His  Glory.  Keep  in  mind  that  God  will  call  you  to 
account  for  the  use  you  have  made  of  it.  Resolve 
then  to  give  yourself  to  God  and  to  bear  it  patiently 
and  without  fretting,  so  long  as  He  pleases.  One 
must  learn  to  bear  with  one's-self  before  one  is  able  to 
bear  the  Cross  of  Christ.  He  bore  the  prospective 
weight  of  all  men,  their  sorrows,  their  sadness,  their 
weariness  ;  and  He  bore  it  so  faithfully  that  He  would 
not  lay  aside  the  smallest  part  thereof ; — so  persever- 
ingly  that  He  never  gave  Himself  a  moment's  relief 
during  His  earthly  Life.  Do  you  in  likewise  be 
faithful  and  persevering  in  bearing  that  share  of  His 
Cross  which  is  laid  on  you, — I  mean  your  own 
wretchedness,  and  do  not  be  disheartened,  for  it  is 
one  of  the  ways  given  you  in  which  to  serve  and 
honour  God  on  earth,  and  to  bear  your  part  in  your 


DE  COND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         127 

Saviour's  Cross.  Give  yourself  up  to  the  power  of 
His  Grace,  so  that  you  may  do  it  perfectly.  It  is 
only  for  this  life  that  we  have  to  suffer,  and  the 
reward  of  that  suffering  is  eternal.  Meanwhile  do  not 
neglect  seeking  such  relief  as  will  tend  to  distract 
your  mind  duly.  Take  care  of  your  own  health,  and 
of  your  wife's ;  and  oblige  her  to  attend  to  it  her- 
self. 

"  Do  not  give  way  to  depression, — but  resign  your- 
self to  our  Dear  Lord  with  the  object  of  bearing  the 
discomforts  and  petty  contradictions  of  this  life 
bravely.  It  appertains  to  God's  Holy  Spirit  to  make 
you  welcome  them,  whereas  it  is  characteristic  of 
self-love  to  be  grievously  depressed  by  them.  We 
must  not  wish  to  have  our  own  will  carried  out  in  this 
world,  or  to  find  our  satisfaction  therein,  but  rather 
we  must  be  content  to  die  to  all  our  own  ways  and 
wishes, — to  all  that  is  of  the  old  Adam.  When  any 
circumstances  of  our  life  tend  that  way — as  for  the  most 
part  all  that  is  trying  does — we  ought  to  be  glad  at 
heart,  and  bless  God  for  helping  us  by  casting  us  down 
in  the  flesh  that  He  may  build  us  up  in  the  Spirit 
Remember  what  the  Apostle  S.  James  says — 'My 
brethren,  count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers 
temptations '  (i.  2).  Love  and  joy,  according  to  the 
Spirit  of  God,  always  take  the  shape  of  the  Cross  and 
of  suffering  for  God  in  this  life  j  even  as  fleshly  love 


128  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

and  joy  take  that  of  the  enjoyment  of  and  rest  in 
creatures.  Do  not  seek  a  remedy  for  your  depression 
in  love  of  the  world  or  satisfaction  of  the  senses ;  the 
remedy  would  be  worse  than  the  disease, — but  seek  it 
in  God,  striving  not  merely  to  love  and  praise  Him, 
but  to  love  and  praise  Him  with  a  real  interior  joy. 
Do  not  give  up  any  of  your  religious  practices,  and 
remember  me  in  your  prayers."1 

To  a  sick  friend  he  writes  : — 

"May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ever  live  in  you,  in 
Heaven  to  His  Glory,  in  earth  to  do  His  work !  I 
beseech  Him  not  merely  to  control  the  whole  use  you 
make  of  your  life,  but  also  that  He  would  preserve 
and  sustain  it  by  His  vivifying  powers,  so  that  it  may 
be  wholly  His,  wholly  dependent  upon  Him ; — that 
He  may  not  merely  be  the  principle  of  a  supernatural 
life  of  grace  in  you,  but  likewise  the  principle  of  your 
natural  life  which  He  preserves.  He  will  be  the  sole 
principle  of  our  future  life  to  all  eternity,  in  virtue  of 
that  Resurrection  to  which  He  will  call  us.  While 
here  on  earth  our  being  is  sin-soiled,  and  He  can  have 
no  part  in  sin,  but  inasmuch  as  we  belong  primarily  to 
God  the  Father  as  our  Creator,  His  Beloved  Son 
preserves  and  sustains  our  life,  subject  as  it  is  to  sin, 
in  order  that  we  may  become  more  wholly  His,  and 
that  He  may  acquire  continually  fresh  claims  upon  us, 
1  Lett  res,  Nos.  Ixxxvii.  Ixxxviii. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        129 


Sometimes  even  He  vouchsafes  to  renew  that  life,  as  in 
Lazarus,  who  owed  his  earthly  life  to  the  Son  of  God 
— deriving  not  merely  his  spiritual  but  his  temporal 
existence  from  Him,  and  being  thereby  bound  to  our 
Dear  Lord  by  a  very  special  tie.  I  pray  that  you 
may  be  made  to  share  in  the  mind  with  which  Lazarus 
must  have  received  this  renewed  life  from  the  Son  of 
God,  and  in  which  he  must  have  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days  in  close  union  and  dependence  on  Him. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  one  of  the  uses  to  which  you 
should  put  your  sickness,  is  the  longing  to  be  more 
entirely  Christ's,  and  less  your  own.  But  do  not  ne- 
glect the  means  which  God  vouchsafes  to  use  for  our 
restoration  to  health,  through  His  Dear  Son's  Blessing. 
We  are  bound  to  receive  them  with  thanksgiving,  even 
as  S.  Paul  says  we  are  bound  to  receive  our  daily  food 
(i  Tim.  iv.  3).  Accept  willingly  the  humiliation  of 
having  to  take  so  much  care  of  your  body,  and  do  not 
seek  to  be  better  thought  of  by  any  one  than  God 
chooses  you  to  be.  But  do  not  occupy  yourself  with 
dwelling  on  your  own  condition,  or  the  moral  cause  of 
your  sufferings.  Perhaps  it  is  not  as  you  think,  or  if 
it  be,  God  if  He  wills  can  repair  the  ill  effect  of  your 
faults.  Accept  humiliation  freely,  and  do  not  desire 
anything  of  any  one  save  from  a  supernatural  point  of 
view,  and  through  the  Merits  of  Jesus  Christ ;  for  to 
wish  only  that  men  may  be  to  us  whatever  God  would 
I 


1 30  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

have  them,  will  always  be  the  true  road  to  peace  and 
happiness  for  those  souls  which  cleave  to  God  in  humi- 
lity and  patience.  They  know  that  He  holds  the  hearts 
alike  of  bad  and  good  in  His  Hand ;  that  He  can 
equally  work  His  Will  by  means  of  devils  or  angels ; 
that  He  continually  feeds  His  friends  by  means  of  His 
enemies — His  lambs  by  the  help  of  very  wolves.  And 
so  they  are  at  peace  in  His  Hand.  We  too  shall  find 
peace  of  heart  and  mind,  beyond  all  we  can  imagine, 
if  we  seek  nothing  save  that  His  Holy  Will  be  done 
in  all  things."  x 

Speaking  of  the  ruling  motives  of  the  Christian's 
life,  Pere  de  Condren  says  : — 

"  The  first  point  at  which  to  aim  in  all  our  actions, 
that  they  may  be  really  Christian,  is  self-renunciation, 
as  S.  Paul  says,  'Ye  are  not  your  own,  for  ye  are 
bought  with  a  price'  (i  Cor.  vi.  19,  20);  and  again, 
'  He  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live  should  not  hence- 
forth live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him  Which  died 
for  them  and  rose  again'  (2  Cor.  v.  15).  So  we  should 
die  to  self  through  grace  and  the  virtue  of  Christ's 
Death.  He  must  live  in  us,  and  our  one  object  in 
the  world  should  be  to  do  His  Work  therein. 

"  The  second  point  is  a  like  renunciation  of  all  that 
is  of  self  or  our  own  mind,  in  order  to  enter  into  the 
Mind  of  Christ  and  to  do  His  work  through  His  Spirit, 
1  Lett  res,  No.  xi. 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        131 

Which  Alone  can  enable  us  to  effect  it.  And  this  must 
be  done  very  heartily,  with  a  strong  conviction  that 
God  will  enable  us  to  do  it,  and  that  Jesus  Christ 
works  continually  with  us,  to  vivify  and  renew  us  in 
it.  Even  when  we  may  not  be  conscious  that  we  are 
upheld  by  this  supernatural  strength,  we  need  not 
question  it,  for  being  altogether  divine,  it  is  impercep- 
tible to  the  senses,  and  can  only  be  realised  by  faith. 

"  The  third  point  is  total  renunciation  of  every  aim 
in  our  work  save  God.  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  Whose 
members  we  are,  and  in  Whose  Spirit  we  seek  to  live, 
had  none  other.  Not  that  this  hinders  us  from  regu- 
lating our  actions  by  sundry  rules  having  application 
to  what  may  seem  other  objects.  Thus  obedience  is 
regulated  by  the  will  of  those  set  over  us,  but  the  end 
which  we  set  before  us  is  God.  Bodily  nourishment 
ought  to  be  regulated  according  to  our  needs,  but  the 
end  for  which  we  take  it  should  be  God ;  so  that  when 
we  sustain  the  body,  it  should  not  be  for  our  own 
earthly  sakes,  but  for  the  Glory  of  God,  Who  is  our 
Fulness,  our  Satiety,  our  Eternal  Food.  So  again  with 
respect  to  conversation,  which  should  be  regulated  by 
charity  and  Christian  courtesy ;  but  its  end  should  be 
to  honour  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  communing  with 
men.  In  short,  God  ought  to  be  the  Sole  End  of  all 
we  do,  not  self.  Hence  you  will  draw  one  deduction, 
i.e.  that  the  rule  on  which  all  your  life  is  to  be  framed 


132  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

must  be  that  you  give  yourself  wholly  to  Jesus  Christ, 
to  do  and  suffer  whatsoever  comes  before  you  for  and 
in  Him,  and  to  His  Glory  and  that  of  His  Father. 
May  He  cause  you  to  share  largely  in  the  fulness  of 
His  life."1 

To  one  who  asked  guidance  as  to  the  right  use  of 
time,  Pere  de  Condren  replies  : — 

"  Our  whole  life  ought  to  be  shaped  according  to 
the  light  and  truth  of  faith,  and  the  precepts  of  Chris- 
tianity, so  that  it  may  be  as  God  would  have  it.  We 
see  how  men  of  the  world  conduct  themselves  ac- 
cording to  their  worldly  experience,  ruling  their  ways 
with  a  view  to  the  customs  and  opinions  of  society ; — 
how  philosophers  boast  of  ruling  their  life  according 
to  the  light  of  reason ; — and  how  the  sensualist 
follows  the  leadings  of  the  flesh  and  self-indulgence ; 
— surely  it  befits  the  Christian  to  be  ruled  by  his  faith, 
which  leads  him  to  seek  a  far  higher  standard  than 
mere  reason  or  nature  can  ever  do.  From  this  point 
of  view  I  would  suggest  three  truths  which  shew  how 
important  it  is  that  we  should  daily  make  a  right  and 
holy  use  of  our  time. 

"  First  then,  God  is  the  Creator  of  all  things,  and 

therein  of  Time.     We  ought  to  accept  time  as  His 

Gift,  and  use  it  to  His  Glory,  for  'the  Lord  hath  made 

all  things  for  Himself  (Prov.  xvi.  4),  and  He  gives 

«  Lettres,  No.  Ixii. 


DE  COND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        133 

us  time  only  that  we  may  employ  it  in  His  Service. 
We  all  feel  bound  to  use  a  gift  according  to  the  in- 
tention of  the  giver ; — if  some  one  gives  me  a  hun- 
dred crowns  for  the  poor,  I  cannot  use  that  money 
otherwise  than  in  alms.  So  God  gives  us  time,  not 
that  we  may  fritter  it  away  in  useless  pursuits,  or 
misspend  it  in  evil  actions  which  offend  Him ;  but 
that  we  may  employ  it  in  good  works  to  promote 
His  Glory.  Let  us  always  keep  this  intention  in 
mind,  and  our  time  will  be  better  and  more  carefully 
spent  than  it  too  often  is  at  present. 

"The  second  truth  I  would  commend  to  your 
thoughts  is  that  we  have  not  a  single  moment  of  time 
which  is  not  won  for  us  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  by 
His  Death. 

"  God  had  said,  *  In  the  day  thou  eatest  of  it ' 
(the  forbidden  fruit),  *  thou  shalt  surely  die '  (Gen. 
ii.  17);  and  had  He  heeded  nothing  save  strict 
justice,  sinful  man  had  died  without  any  time  for 
repentance.  Such  a  sentence  was  carried  out  upon 
the  offending  angels — they  died  their  spiritual  death 
immediately  after  they  had  sinned ;  but  God  spared 
man  in  virtue  of  the  Merits  of  His  Son,  Who  should 
come  on  earth  to  suffer  and  die  for  him.  Therefore 
every  hour  which  we  have  had  hitherto,  or  are  to 
have  yet,  we  owe  to  Jesus  Christ, — not  one  moment 
of  time  since  Adam's  fall  but  has  been  bought  for 


134  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

man  by  the  Redemption,  at  the  price  of  our  Saviour's 
Sufferings  and  Death.  Consequently  we  owe  Him 
that  which  He  has  bought  for  us  at  so  great  a  price, 
and  surely  it  behoves  us  to  use  the  time  He  has 
won  for  us  in  a  way  worthy  of  His  Labours,  His 
Pains,  His  Cross,  His  Blood,  and  His  Death.  If 
we  waste  and  misuse  it,  we  are  wasting  that  Precious 
Blood  by  which  He  gained  it  for  us,  and  we  shall 
have  to  give  account  for  that  time  to  God  the  Father. 
And  therefore  we  ought  to  strive  to  use  every 
moment  of  time  as  perfectly  as  we  possibly  can, 
remembering  the  price  at  which  it  has  been  bought. 
Think  of  the  lost — how  do  you  imagine  they  would 
use  their  time  if  God  were  to  grant  them  again  one 
single  hour  of  all  those  they  have  misused, — and 
meanwhile  we  .  .  .  ? 

"  The  third  truth  I  would  have  you  ponder  is  that 
God's  Holy  Spirit  was  sent  among  men  to  help  them 
to  use  time  rightly.  We  cannot  use  it  well  without 
His  Grace,  we  cannot  lead  a  supernatural  life  apart 
from  Him.  In  consequence  of  sin,  we  may  use  time  to 
our  eternal  condemnation ; — by  nature  we  shall  use  it  to 
earthly  purposes,  but  we  cannot  use  it  according  to  the 
Will  of  Christ  Jesus,  save  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 
And  therefore  we  ought  continually  and  fervently  to 
invoke  that  Holy  Spirit,  asking  His  Grace  to  use 
our  time  in  union  with  His  Intentions  and  Will  Con- 


DE  COND REN'S  LI1-E  AND  LETTERS.        135 

tinually  through  the  day,  we  ought  to  refer  to  Him 
for  guidance  in  the  right  use  of  our  time ;  seeking  to 
know  how  He  would  have  us  employ  the  actual  hour 
now  passing,  and  asking  His  aid  not  only  to  know, 
but  to  do  His  Will.  ...  As  members  of  Christ  our 
standard  should  be  a  high  one.  ...  To  this  end, 
strive  to  unite  your  worship  to  the  acts  of  devotion 
practised  by  the  Son  of  God  when  on  earth.  Think 
what  a  condescension,  what  a  humiliation  this  life  of 
time,  this  subjection  to  hours  and  minutes,  was  to 
Him  Who  is  Lord  of  Eternity ; — to  Him  Who  even 
then  was  Lord  of  that  Glorious  Eternity  as  much  as 
He  is  now !  Filled  with  this  thought,  let  us  adore 
Him  in  His  voluntary  subjection  to  our  earthly  bond- 
age of  time. 

"The  Fathers  say  that  by  vouchsafing  to  be  baptized, 
Jesus  Christ  sanctified  the  waters  of  our  Baptism; 
surely  even  so  when  He  vouchsafed  to  be  subject 
to  our  human  laws  of  time,  He  sanctified  it,  and  laid 
upon  us  the  obligation  to  use  it  after  a  Christian 
fashion.  Some  brief  devotion  to  His  earthly  life  of 
time  will  help  us  in  this — our  best  method  of  entering 
into  the  things  of  God  is  by  adoration 

"  Next,  we  must  make  God  the  End  of  all  we  do,  and 
seek  His  Glory  only.  If  Jesus  Christ  has  won  time 
for  us,  we  must  in  return  strive  so  to  use  it  in  all  our 
actions  after  a  manner  worthy  of  His  Cross  and 


136  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Passion — and  to  do  that  we  must  have  God  ever 
before  us  in  all  our  intentions.  .  .  .  When  on  earth, 
Jesus  said,  '  I  can  of  mine  own  self  do  nothing.  .  .  . 
I  seek  not  mine  own  Will,  but  the  Will  of  the  Father 
which  hath  sent  Me '  (John  v.  30),  and  we  should 
strive  to  be  of  that  mind  throughout  life,  in  whatever 

time  brings  us  to  do  or  bear In  Jesus  Christ 

nothing  is  mean  or  vile — everything  becomes  great 
and  noble,  and  so  in  His  Church  nothing  done  for 
Him  can  be  contemptible  or  low ;  every  action  is 
refined  and  sanctified  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  the  power  of  Whose  Grace  we  ought  to  per- 
form every  action. 

"  But  for  the  practical  use  of  all  these  suggestions, 
one  thing  is  indispensable  as  the  groundwork ;  and 
that  is  total  renunciation  of  self-seeking  in  our  use  of 
time,  and  in  all  we  do.     Otherwise  while  we  think  we 
are  studying  for  God's  Sake  and  His  Glory,  self-com- 
placency or  natural  curiosity  will  intermingle,  spoil 
the  purity  of  our  intention,  and  turn  aside  our  aim. 
There  is  but  one  remedy— to  give  ourselves  up  ab- 
solutely to  accept  God's  Hand  ruling  and  guiding  us." « 
Tending  to  the  same  point,  another  letter  says : — 
"The  principal   occupation  one  created  by  God 
should  have   in  this   world  is  to  glorify  Him,  and 
nothing  should  be  allowed  to  divert  us  from  this  : — it 
1  Lettres,  Nos.  Ixv.  IxvL 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        137 

ought  to  be  so  absolutely  our  ruling  thought  that  we 
may  even  turn  the  hindrances  we  meet  with  to  the  same 
end. 

"  Obviously  our  own  anxieties  tend  to  distract  us, 
and  therefore  we  ought  to  strive  to  make  His  Glory  a 
more  prominent  object  even  than  our  own  salvation. 
We  ought  to  strive  to  be  led  solely  by  a  spirit  of 
faith,  content  with  the  light  it  gives,  and  always  being 
more  intent  on  doing  than  on  stopping  to  see  if  we  are 
doing. 

"  It  is  well,  too,  to  give  more  heed  to  others  than 
to  one's-self,  and  to  be  content  to  serve  God  according 
to  the  instructions  He  gives  through  those  He  sets  over 
us.  You  will  do  well  to  work  for  one  hour  daily 
in  honour  of  the  New  Life  of  Jesus  Christ  raised  from 
the  dead.  So,  too,  work  for  half  an  hour  daily  in 
honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  of  her  hidden  life  in 
Christ — strive  every  day  to  fulfil  some  lowly  task  in 
honour  of  Jesus  Christ  making  Himself  the  Servant  of 
Man.  Try  to  be  less  occupied  with  yourself  and  your 
own  sufferings,  and  to  bear  them  all  in  Him  for  God. 
You  can  pray  something  to  this  effect :  '  I  put  aside  all 
that  I  am — I  cleave  to  all  that  God  is — I  will  bear  all 
that  troubles  me  for  His  Glory,'  "  &C.1 

Pere  de  Condren's  asceticism  was  by  no  means  in- 
discriminating,  as  the  following  advice,  volunteered  to 
1  Lettres,  No.  Ixxiii. 


138  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

one  whom  he  thought  likely  to  observe  Lent  after  a 
somewhat  self-willed  fashion,  proves  : — 

"As  Lent  approaches,  and  hearing  from  you  that 
you  are  not  well,  I  feel  obliged  to  write  and  urge  you 
to  submit  to  the  advice  given  you  about  your  food 

while  you  are  weak.  I  have  written  to  M.  M to 

ask  him  to  give  you  his  advice,  which  you  must 
conscientiously  follow,  and  be  scrupulously  particular 
in  doing  so.  The  Evil  One  deadens  the  conscience 
of  many  who  are  quite  able  to  observe  this  public  pen- 
ance (of  Lent)  which  God  has  laid  upon  His  Church 
from  the  earliest  times,  and  leads  them  to  neglect 
it;  but  on  the  other  hand  he  tempts  others  who  are 
incapable  of  a  strict  observance  thereof,  and  causes 
them  to  injure  their  health,  which  is  altogether  con- 
trary to  the  intention  of  God  and  His  Church.  We 
are  just  as  much  bound  to  submit  to  God  when  He 
requires  us  to  deal  charitably  with  ourselves  as  when 
He  requires  anything  else  of  us. 

"  I  think  I  have  before  now  warned  you  that  you 
are  liable  to  an  habitual  temptation  to  injure  yourself. 
I  have  noticed  the  consequences  several  times,  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  you  are  not  sufficiently  docile  to  the 
advice  which  has  been  given  you  on  this  score.  One 
plain  proof  of  this  is  the  evident  secret  annoyance 
you  feel  when  anything  is  said  which  interferes  with 
your  own  views  on  the  matter.  Everybody  has  some 


DE  CONDREWS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        139 

special  trial  in  this  life ;  no  one  is  free  from  struggle, 
and  the  holiest  people  are  sometimes  the  most  sorely 
tempted.  It  seems  to  me  that  by  God's  Mercy  you 
are  not  tempted  to  sin  against  Him  or  against  your 
neighbour,  whose  interests  you  are  generally  more 
disposed  to  serve  than  your  own.  God  has  been 
pleased  to  shield  you  from  these  attacks  of  the  Enemy, 
so  he  turns  them  all  on  you  yourself,  and  the  repug- 
nance you  shew  to  the  needful  remedy  almost  makes 
me  fear  that  he  might  succeed  in  his  object,  if  it  were 
not  that  I  have  still  stronger  hope  in  the  help  God's 
Mercy  will  send  you.  But  you  must  mistrust  his 
snares,  for  indeed  it  seems  to  me  that  you  have  a 
decided  difficulty  to  face  in  all  that  concerns  yourself, 
and  that  you  are  too  much  disposed  to  give  way  both 
in  what  concerns  your  temporal  affairs  and  your  health. 
Be  on  your  guard,  and  strive  to  banish  the  malicious 
enemy,  who  after  getting  a  hold  upon  you  in  matters 
of  health  and  general  affairs  of  life,  will  go  on  to  what 
is  more  dangerous,  and  more  directly  affecting  your 
salvation.  The  enemy  does  everything  with  a  view 
to  our  final  perdition,  which  is  his  real  object. 

"  I  am  going  on  a  long  journey,  and  may  not  be  in 
Paris  again  before  the  summer,  and  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  give  you  this  warning  before  I  go.  Offer  yourself 
to  our  Lord ;  ask  His  Grace  to  follow  His  Guidance 
in  all  things,  and  that  you  may  yield  in  nothing  to  His 


140  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

enemies.  Let  yourself  have  full  part  in  His  Charity, 
as  well  as  others.  This  is  all  the  more  necessary  for 
you  that  you  are  under  the  influence  of  a  distinct 
temptation  to  neglect  your  health,  and  that  it  is  dis- 
agreeable to  you  to  have  to  overcome  it.  Look  back 
over  your  past  conduct  in  all  sincerity,  and  I  hope 
you  will  perceive  somewhat  of  this ;  but  even  if  you 
do  not,  you  cannot  be  wrong  in  deferring  to  the 
advice  of  your  friends.  I  shall  not  cease  to  offer  you 
diligently  to  God,  indeed  the  further  I  am  from  you 
the  more  carefully  I  shall  do  so.  I  commend  myself 
to  your  prayers."1 

He  could  comfort  the  afflicted  too,  if  not  with  the 
overflowing  tenderness  which  characterises  S.  Francis 
de  Sales'  letters  of  consolation,  yet  with  no  cold 
apprehension  of  their  needs  : — 

"May  the  Grace,  the  Blessing,  and  the  Peace  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  granted  you  always.  I  pray 
Him,  at  this  holy  season  wherein  He  deigned  to  rise 
to  a  new  Life,  that  He  would  grant  you  renewed  life 
and  strength,  not  only  to  the  mind,  but  to  your  body 
also,  so  that  you  may  be  the  better  able  to  minister 
to  those  souls  He  has  committed  to  your  care. 

"  I  have  often  felt  great  compassion  for  what  I  have 
heard  of  your  sufferings;  my  consolation  is  in  the 
thought  that  the  same  Lord  Who  vouchsafed  to  be 
1  Lettres,  No.  evil 


DE  CONDREATS  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        141 

cruciiied  out  of  love  for  you,  is  leading  you  on  to  His 
Glory,  and  chooses  to  fit  you  for  His  Bosom  by  the 
way  of  the  Cross;  as  also,  that  the  Spirit  of  God, 
Whose  perfect  work,  the  Apostle  tells  us,  is  patience, 
is  perfecting  you  more  and  more.  The  Son  of  God 
would  not  stay  His  Sorrows  or  His  Patience  by  con- 
solation, or  by  anything  short  of  that  Sacrifice  which 
put  an  end  at  once  to  His  earthly  Life  and  His  Cross, 
and  gave  Him  to  the  Father.  So  He  wills  that  God 
should  be  the  end  of  every  Christian's  cross  and 
patience,  and  we  ought  not  to  desire  to  be  free  from 
pain  and  suffering  in  this  life  by  putting  aside  sorrow 
or  crosses,  but  by  the  putting  aside  of  self,  by  leaving 
all  else  to  cleave  to  Him,  I  doubt  not  but  that  God 
is  in  this  manner  the  end  of  your  Cross,  and  that  as 
He  has  upheld  you  by  His  Spirit  of  patience,  He  will 
receive  you  in  His  own  right  time.  I  pray  you, 
remember  me  in  your  prayers."  x 

To  a  mother  who  had  just  lost  her  child  he  writes  : 

"  If  I  could  leave  town  at  the  present  moment  I 

would  have  come  to  you,  not  that  I  could  be  of  any 

use  to  your  little  one,  but  to  comfort  you,  and  help 

you  to  bear  his  loss  without  grieving,  overmuch.     It 

is  better  that  God's  Will  be  wrought  for  the  child 

than  ours;  it  is  more  profitable  for  him.     Life  were 

far  more  perilous  to  him  than  death ; — for  death  is  to 

1  Lettres,  No.  xc. 


142  PRIES7L  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

your  boy  an  entrance  into  Paradise  and  life  eternal, 
whereas  a  longer  sojourn  upon  earth  might  have 
perilled  his  salvation.  Of  a  truth  I  love  the  dear 
little  fellow,  but  I  love  him  in  God  ; — I  would  choose 
rather  his  welfare  than  our  satisfaction, — God's  good 
pleasure  before  our  wishes." x 

And  to  a  father  who  had  lost  two  sons  he  writes  : 
"God  is  shewing  you  that  when  He  committed 
these  two  children  to  you,  it  was  not  so  much  that  you 
might  bring  them  up  in  His  Fear,  as  that  you  might 
offer  them  as  two  innocent  hostages  to  His  Glory.  In 
so  doing,  He  has  given  them  perfect  happiness  ;  they 
have  known  God  before  they  knew  anything  of  the 
world,  or  of  themselves.  You  would  have  had  the 
responsibility  of  their  education,  and  now,  calling 
them  to  reign  with  Him,  God  has  given  them  the 
power  of  guiding  and  raising  you,  and  they  will  be  as 
two  guardian  Angels  who,  watching  over  all  your  life, 
with  the  help  of  God  and  His  Holy  Spirit,  will  lead 
you  to  Himself.  The  saints  help  us  on  our  way  not 
merely  by  their  prayers,  but  likewise  by  their  influence 
and  inspirations,  and  by  a  silent  supernatural  com- 
munication to  our  souls  of  their  own  light  and  love 
of  God.  They  have  a  mighty  power  with  God.  Our 
Dear  Lord  told  S.  John  that  they  who  overcome 
should  sit  with  Him  on  His  Throne  and  eat  of  the 
1  Lettres,  No.  xriv. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        143 

tree  of  life  in  the  midst  of  the  Paradise  of  God.  It 
should  be  a  great  consolation,  a  great  honour  to  you 
to  have  two  children  so  blessed.  Faith  should  over- 
come earthly  sorrow,  and  change  your  father's  tears 
into  joy  at  the  thought  of  their  glory,  and  of  the  bless- 
ing they  may  be  to  you  and  yours." x 

One  touching  note  we  find,  written  on  the  occasion 
of  the  death  of  an  Oratorian,  Pere  de  Lorme,  to  his 
father : — 

"  If  it  had  pleased  God  to  grant  the  prayers  of  our 
Congregation,  and  to  restore  your  son's  health,"  (he 
says,)  "  I  might  have  written  to  rejoice  with  you,  but 
now  I  write  to  give  account  of  him  whom  you  trusted 
to  us.  ...  With  all  submission  to  God,  Who  has 
willed  it  thus,  we  are  sorely  grieved;  for  while  we  may 
not  refuse  God  anything,  there  are  some  sacrifices 
which  we  cannot  make  without  sharp  pain,  and  where- 
in our  tears  are  acceptable  to  Him.  We  are  con- 
strained to  be  willing  that  He  should  take  your  son 
from  our  love  to  His  Own,  and  that  having  moulded 
Him  awhile  by  His  Grace,  and  brought  him  to  that 
spiritual  perfection  which  He  required,  He  should 
call  him  to  eternal  joy  in  His  Bosom. 

"Your  son's  illness  has  been  a  long  one,  and  it  has 
called  forth  all  the  more  his  graces,  and  set  a  rare 
example  before  the  Congregation,  for  he  bore  it  all 
1  Lettres,  No.  xcv. 


144  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

so  well  that  it  was  as  the  crown  to  his  edifying 
life. 

"'Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work,'  says  the 
Apostle  S.  James.  Patience  brings  about  perfection. 
Your  son  was  carefully  tended  during  his  illness, 
and  the  doctors  have  testified  their  affection  for  your 
name  by  their  assiduous  care  of  him.  But  God  has 
not  willed  to  prosper  their  remedies,  because  He  saw 
well  rather  to  satisfy  His  own  Love  and  His  desire 
to  take  your  son  to  Himself.  The  most  skilled  science 
could  not  withstand  God's  intentions,  nor  human 
help  suffice  to  delay  him  in  this  world  of  sadness, 
when  the  Lord  called  him  to  eternal  happiness. 
In  the  ordinary  course  of  nature  he  \vould  have 
ministered  to  you,  and  offered  you  to  God,  but  since 
it  has  pleased  God  that  he  who  was  your  child  in 
this  life  should  become  as  your  elder  brother  in  the 
life  of  glory,  you  must  lay  aside  the  father's  feeling, 
and  conceive  a  new  kind  of  love,  which  looks  upon 
him  who  was  your  son  as  now  your  protector — as  a 
new  guardian  angel  watching  over  your  family.  His 
death  was  so  saintly,  that  we  can  have  no  other 
thought."1 

A  few  short  lines  addressed  to  one  dying  will 
serve  to  shew  his  mind  concerning  death : — 

"If  I  looked  upon  this  life  as  a  great  good,  or  on 
1  Lettres,  No.  xcvi. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         145 

death  as  a  great  evil,  I  should  be  inconsolable  at 
hearing  of  your  state.  But  inasmuch  as  life  is  but  a 
very  dangerous  journey  which  we  are  thankful  to  see 
end  in  a  safe  arrival  with  God ;  as  death  is  the  end 
of  sin,  the  perfecting  of  a  Christian's  life,  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  sacrifice,  the  beginning  of  his 
triumph,  his  entrance  into  glory,  the  hour  when  God 
takes  him  down  from  his  cross  to  live  in  His  Bosom 
for  ever  blessed;  remembering  all  this,  I  cannot  pity 
you,  and  all  my  sorrow  turns  into  the  one  prayer 
which  I  am  moved  to  make  continually,  that  God 
will  be  ever  with  you.  He  will  fill  you  with  holier 
thoughts  than  anything  I  can  suggest,  and  now  that 
your  whole  mind  must  be  fixed  on  God  Who  is  so 
very  near  to  you,  I  do  not  suppose  you  will  care  very 
much  for  my  letters.  Nevertheless,  in  compliance 
with  M.  N.'s  letter,  I  will  suggest  to  your  mind  three 
considerations  concerning  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
Who  is  the  model  of  all  perfection  in  life  and 
death.  First,  He  readily  left  all  to  go  to  His 
Father,  all  His  works  being  done  in  Him.  Next, 
He  bore  all  the  exceeding  bitterness  of  His  Cup 
willingly  for  His  Father's  Glory.  And  last,  far  from 
murmuring  or  being  absorbed  in  His  sufferings, 
He  offered  Himself  with  His  whole  Will  to  God. 
And  it  is  our  duty  to  strive  to  enter  into  all  His 
ways  and  to  abide  therein  with  Him.  May  He 


146  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


give  you  grace  to  do  so.  I  ask  it  with  my  whole 
heart."1 

Concerning  the  sacrament  of  marriage,  Pere  de 
Condren  writes : — 

"It  is  less  understood,  more  profaned,  and  more 
hard  to  be  perfectly  observed  than  any  other.  But 
as  every  Christian  is  bound  to  aim  at  perfection  in 
his  own  calling,  it  is  important  to  know  wherein 
that  of  marriage  lies ;  its  special  dignity  arising  from 
the  end  to  which  it  was  instituted.  Now  this  end  is 
to  set  before  us  the  union  of  Jesus  Christ  with  His 
Bride  the  Church,  the  most  perfect  of  all  unions  on 
earth,  of  which  this  sacrament  is  the  type. 

"  Perfection  of  the  marriage  state,  then,  consists  in 
setting  forth  as  clearly  as  is  possible  to  men  this  sacred 
union ;  so  that  by  their  intentions,  actions,  and  use  of 
marriage,  the  husband  and  wife  may  prove  their  inten- 
tion of  fulfilling  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  objects  in  this 
Sacrament,  which  are  spiritual,  not  earthly.  To  this 
end,  they  should  ponder  the  extreme  purity  of  Christ's 
union  with  His  Church,  and  inasmuch  as  to  equal  that 
is  beyond  the  power  of  mere  mortals,  they  should 
adore  it  humbly,  and  pray  that  our  Dear  Lord  would 
grant  them  His  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  they  may  be  able 
to  attain  a  part  in  the  holy  objects  and  intentions 
which  He  sets  before  them  in  this  Sacrament  It  were 
1  Lettres,  No.  Ixvii. 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.         147 

well,  before  approaching  it,  to  read  attentively  and 
devoutly  meditate  both  the  office  and  ritual  which  the 
Church  appoints  to  be  used,  so  as  to  realize  what 
is  promised  and  undertaken.  It  is  a  pious  prac- 
tice to  bid  our  Dear  Lord  and  His  Mother  to  the 
wedding,  in  memory  of  their  presence  at  Cana  of 
Galilee ;  as  also  S.  Joseph,  bearing  in  mind  the  rever- 
ence and  decorum  which  is  incumbent  on  all  the 
guests.  Too  often  the  holiness  of  this  Sacrament  is 
violated  by  what  passes  on  these  occasions;  by  a 
license  which  savours  more  of  paganism  than  Chris- 
tianity, and  which  must  avert  the  blessing  God  would 
impart  to  greater  purity  and  reverence.  You  must  not 
fail  to  offer  to  God  the  children  He  may  please  to  give 
you,  with  a  full  resolution  of  devoting  them  to  be 
faithful  subjects  of  His  Kingdom;  and  it  would  be  a 
very  suitable  devotion  at  such  a  time  to  dedicate 
yourself  specially  to  serve  Christ  and  His  Church,  in 
honour  of  that  blessed  union  between  Him  and  His 
Bride  of  which  this  Sacrament  is  the  type.  Above  all, 
ask  of  Him  that  you  may  enter  upon  the  state  of  mat- 
rimony with  no  other  intention  than  that  of  pleasing 
Him,  remembering  that  in  Baptism  you  renounced  the 
flesh  and  became  a  new  creature ;  that  therein  you  put 
on  Christ  Jesus;  you  died  to  the  old  Adam;  you 
came  forth  to  live  with  Christ  Risen,  you  were  made 
a  member  of  Christ  Glorified,  Who  sitteth  on  the 


148  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Father's  Right  Hand.  Let  husband  and  wife  dwell 
together,  therefore,  as  Christians  should,  and  let  Jesus 
Christ,  Who  gave  His  Blood  and  His  Life  for  His 
Church,  be  the  model  of  your  married  life."  * 

One  letter  of  Pere  de  Condren,  addressed  to  a  reli- 
gious who  was  disturbed  at  having  to  change  his  con- 
vent, expresses  what  was  his  own  practice  as  well  as 
precept  in  obeying  all  and  any  of  God's  calls  : — 

"  It  matters  little,"  he  says,  "  where  we  are/for  God 
is  everywhere,  and  His  Dear  Son  sends  His  Holy  Spirit 
and  His  Church  into  every  part  of  the  world ;  and  as 
everywhere  we  have  free  access  to  Heaven,  so  too  our 
Lord  and  His  Saints  can  and  will  help  us  whitherso- 
ever we  may  be.  But  it  does  matter  very  considerably 
that  we  be  wheresoever  God  wills  us  to  be.  Before 
the  Incarnation,  God's  people  received  His  messages 
by  means  of  angels,  who  told  them  where  God  would 
have  them  dwell ;  but  now,  since  God  vouchsafed  to 
become  Man,  He  has  appointed  men  to  be  the  minis- 
ters of  His  Will  towards  their  fellow-men ;  and  we  are 
bound  to  receive  God's  Orders  from  their  lips  with 
even  greater  reverence  than  the  Patriarchs  of  old  from 
those  of  His  angels,  because  God,  Who  took  upon 
Him  the  form  not  of  an  angel  but  of  man,  wills  that 
His  message  be  spoken  to  us  not  by  angels  but  by 
men. 

1  Lettres,  No.  JT. 


DE  CONDREA'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        149 

"  I  write  thus  with  reference  to  your  new  abode,  in 
order  to  induce  you,  out  of  reverence  for  the  Mystery 
of  the  Incarnation,  the  Source  of  all  your  grace,  to 
accept  it  willingly,  as  also  to  change  it  again  for  any 
other  which  your  superiors  may  appoint.  We  have 
no  right  to  any  dwelling-place  whatever  on  earth,  save 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Who  has  given  us  pos- 
session, or,  more  strictly  speaking,  the  use  of  that 
which  He  won  for  us  by  His  Blood ;  and  this  because 
sin,  without  His  Redeeming  Grace,  would  cast  us 
forthwith  into  hell  as  our  only  abode.  This  truth 
ought  to  make  us  very  faithful  in  accepting  whatever 
abode  He  may  allot  to  us,  inasmuch  as  we  owe  any 
habitation  whatsoever  which  we  possess  solely  to  Him 
and  His  Merits.  I  am  writing  on  S.  Paul's  Day,  which 
reminds  me  how  he,  who  was  carried  up  into  Paradise, 
yet  came  back,  in  submission  to  God's  Will,  to  preach, 
labour,  and  at  last  die  in  this  world ;  leaving  God,  so 
to  say,  for  God;  after  a  fashion  imitating  our  Lord, 
Who  came  forth  from  the  Bosom  of  the  Father  into 
the  world,  as  He  Himself  says.  Now  you  quit  neither 
God  nor  Paradise,  but  you  come  from  the  Convent 
of  the  Incarnation,  and  that  very  Mystery  should 
strengthen  you  to  do  it  in  a  spirit  of  adoration  of  Him 
Who  left  the  Bosom  of  the  Father  to  bear  His  Cross 
on  earth.  Each  time  that  you  communicate,  He  is 
sent  to  you  by  the  Father,  the  Holy  Spirit  brings  Him 


r  50  PRIESTL  V  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

to  you,  and  He  gives  Himself  to  you,  and  comes  to 
dwell  in  a  very  poor  and  worthless  dwelling,  unworthy 
to  be  compared  to  that  which  He  leaves.  Neverthe- 
less in  His  Mercy  He  chooses  to  come  and  abide  with 
you.  Apply  this  thought  to  your  change  of  abode, 
and  accept  it  in  honour  thereof.  I  think  it  will  be 
profitable  to  you,  for  God  ever  returns  a  hundredfold 
whatsoever  we  give  up  for  Him. 

"It  may  seem  to  you  that  you  are  losing  your 
wonted  spiritual  help  in  quitting  Paris,  but  God  will 
not  suffer  you  to  be  deprived  of  it.  Our  Lord  was 
more  helpful  to  His  Apostles  through  His  Absence 
than  through  His  Presence,  as  He  had  told  them 
would  be  the  case.  I  hope  by  His  Grace  that  you 
will  receive  more  spiritual  aid  from  your  House  in 
Paris  in  your  absence  than  you  would  by  being  there, 
since  you  leave  it  for  God's  Sake.  You  are  with  the 
Prioress,  if  no  longer  in  the  same  town,  yet  in  the 
Same  Lord,  if  you  are  faithful  to  Him.  You  are  with 
her  in  the  same  Holy  Spirit,  in  whose  Heart  and  Love 
our  Tx)rd  has  placed  His  Church ;  and  you  are  with 
her  in  the  Same  God,  in  Whose  Bosom  dwell  the 
Blessed  Virgin  and  all  the  Saints — all,  in  short,  who 
are  born  of  Him.  In  that  Home  you  dwell  as  a 
Christian,  elsewhere  you  have  nought  save  what  is  of 
sin,  which  must  sooner  or  later  be  taken  from  you, 
and  which  therefore  you  should  wish  yourself  to  leave. 


DE  COND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        151 

As  the  child  of  Adam  you  are  in  banishment  in  this 
world,  and  just  now  Dieppe  is  the  place  of  your  exile, 
whither  God  has  driven  you,  as  of  old  He  drove  your 
father  Adam  forth  from  Paradise.  But  as  the  child 
of  God,  Jerusalem  is  your  home,  and  therein  you  are 
only  separated  from  your  Sisters  in  Paris  by  that 
which  you  are  bound  to  despise  and  reject,  by  that 
which  has  not  yet  put  on  the  new  man,  by  that  which 
'  waits  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our 
body,'  as  S.  Paul  says  (Rom.  viii.  23).  I  think  this 
ought  to  be  a  great  consolation  to  you.  You  and 
your  Sisters  in  Paris  were  the  children  of  God,  but 
the  children  of  Adam  likewise ;  now  you  have  left 
that  part  of  the  union  which  belonged  to  Adam,  but 
you  are  still  united  with  them  inasmuch  as  you  both 
belong  to  God.  So  your  mission  to  Dieppe  has  only 
separated  you  in  that  which  it  was  well  to  quit,  leav- 
ing whole  and  intact  that  which  both  you  and  they 
would  wish  to  keep  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,  even 
more  earnestly  than  your  very  life  itself.  .  .  .  God 
is  everywhere — He  sends  forth  His  Holy  Spirit  in  all 
lands.  There  is  no  place  from  whence  we  may  not 
have  access  to  Him  through  His  Son,  and  whereso- 
ever we  may  be,  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Saints  help  and 
succour  us.  God's  commands,  formerly  transmitted 
to  men  through  the  Angels,  have  now  a  no  less  claim  to 
our  reverence  when  they  come  through  our  fellow-men, 


152  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

because  the  Word  has  vouchsafed  to  unite  Himself 
to  man,  and  to  make  the  members  of  His  Body  chan- 
nels and  interpreters  of  His  Will  to  their  brethren. 
We  have  no  right  to  any  dwelling-place  save  through 
His  Mercy,  and  therefore  whatever  place  He  may 
assign  us  ought  to  be  thankfully  accepted  by  us.  If 
God's  Own  Son  did  not  refuse  to  leave  the  Father  and 
come  into  the  world,  surely  there  is  no  home  we 
should  hesitate  to  leave  in  honour  of  His  Incarnation 
and  of  His  Sojourn  in  Judaea.  Think  too  how  He 
comes  to  us  in  the  Holy  Sacrament  in  order  to  prove 
His  Love  for  us,  and  remembering  that,  how  can  we 
hesitate  to  go  wherever  we  are  called  out  of  love 
for  Him?  Whatever  loss  we  think  to  find  by  a 
change  of  abode  will  be  more  than  compensated,  if 
we  offer  it  as  a  freewill  sacrifice;  and  the  Unity  of 
Jesus  Christ,  which  cannot  be  broken  or  hindered  by 
any  distance,  will  prevent  our  being  really  deprived  of 
the  spiritual  blessings  we  seem  to  leave.  Doubtless 
removals  involve  a  separation  from  friends,  but  it  is 
only  a  separation  which  concerns  the  flesh,  to  which 
as  Christians  we  ought  to  be  dead.  In  the  Spirit,  we 
are  one  with  them  in  the  Spiritual  Jerusalem,  which 
extends  over  the  whole  earth — nay  more,  we  are  so 
welded  and  bound  together,  that  we  are  but  one 
body  in  Jesus  Christ."1 

1  Lettres,  Nos.  xcvii.  xcviii. 


DE  COND REN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        153 

There  is  one  letter  of  de  Condren's  on  a  subject 
of  considerable  importance,  which  nevertheless  is  not 
often  treated  of  in  spiritual  correspondence,  namely, 
the  disposition  of  property;  and  at  the  risk  of  too 
extended  quotation  from  the  Oratorian's  writings,  this 
letter  to  a  friend  concerning  his  will  and  its  import- 
ance must  be  given. 

"The  best  way,  as  it  seems  to  me,  of  making  one's  last 
will  and  testament,"  he  says,  "  is  to  spend  an  hour  in 
meditation  before  God,  giving  account  to  Him  of 
ourselves,  and  of  those  external  and  internal  gifts 
with  which  He  has  endowed  us;  humbly  pondering 
what  use  we  have  made  of  them,  and  how  far  it  has 
been  in  conformity  with  His  Holy  Will,  and  with  the 
perfect  disposition  of  life  and  all  earthly  things  of  our 
Dear  Lord.  I  forgot  to  say  that  it  is  very  profitable 
to  begin  such  a  meditation,  as  though  one  had  but 
another  day  to  live,  so  as  to  press  home  the  import- 
ance of  not  delaying  to  fulfil  all  our  last  duties 
towards  God ;  for  fear  lest  time  should  fail,  and  we 
find  ourselves  deficient  before  Him,  when  it  is  too 
late  to  remedy  the  neglect.  This  consideration  would 
oblige  us  to  take  suitable  time  for  examining  what 
God's  Will  is  as  to  the  final  disposition  of  ourselves 
and  our  possessions,  for  surrendering  them  heartily 
to  Him,  and  for  realising  those  ultimate  objects  and 
intentions  for  His  Glory,  which  we  ought  to  have  with 


154  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

respect  to  the  good   things  we  owe   solely  to  His 
liberality. 

"  Next,  we  should  give  God  thanks  for  these  His 
gifts,  rejoicing  in  the  Goodness  which  has  sent  them 
to  us,  sorrowing  over  the  misuse  we  have  made  of 
them,  and  willing  absolutely  to  restore  them  to  Him. 
It  is  well  to  linger  somewhat  over  these  acts  of 
gratitude,  joining  our  spirit  of  thanksgiving  to  that 
of  angels  and  archangels,  and  desiring  Eternity  more 
for  His  Glory  than  our  own  blessedness.  We  may 
well  desire  that  our  spirit  of  thankfulness  should  not 
end  with  this  earthly  life,  or  be  buried  in  our  coffin, 
and,  therefore,  we  may  well  try  to  express  it  in  acts 
of  lasting  gratitude  which  will  survive  us."  (Pere 
de  Condren  then  suggests  certain  pious  bequests, 
observing  that  these  had  better  be  as  free  as  possible, 
and  without  a  view  to  personal  exaltation,  going  on 
to  say,)  "  It  is  well  to  be  content  to  be  forgotten  our- 
selves, so  that  God  Alone  may  dwell  in  men's  hearts. 
We  are  apt  to  be  too  much  engrossed  with  self,  and 
to  want  to  fill  that  share  of  interest  and  consideration 
in  the  minds  of  others  which  appertains  to  God  Only. 
But  it  is  good  to  seek  rather  that  in  this  as  in  all  else 
they  'be  filled  with  the  Fulness  of  God'  Alone, 
(Eph.  iii.  19.)  Souls  are  temples  which  ought  to  be 
filled  with  His  Sole  Majesty,  and  hearts  dedicated  to 
Him  should  know  no  rival,  lest  that  rival  become  an 


DE  CONDREN'S  LIFE  AND  LETTERS.        155 

idol.  ...  Let  us  be  content  to  hide  ourselves  in 
God,  until  at  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  Last  Coming  all 
things  are  revealed.  Let  us  freely  give  Him  this 
world  and  all  that  is  in  it,  if  He  will  but  give  us 
Heaven.  The  day  will  come  when  He  will  shew  that 
those  who  have  been  most  prominently  seen  in  His 
works  have  not  always  done  the  most;  and  sometimes 
they  who  are  least  worthy  receive  most  credit  in  this 
life,  because  in  His  Wisdom  He  does  not  choose  that 
His  faithful  servants  should  run  the  risk  of  having 
their  reward  here. 

"  At  the  hour  of  death  it  behoves  us  to  have  a  spirit 
of  death,  not  of  life  :  and  as  to  our  memory  among 
our  brethren,  since  our  bodies  must  of  necessity  be 
humbly  laid  beneath  the  feet  of  men,  it  does  not  be- 
seem us  to  strive  to  erect  statues  to  our  memory  in 
their  hearts ;  knowing  as  we  do,  that  if  they  knew  all 
our  faults  they  would  rather  abhor  us,  and  only  think 
of  us  in  pity,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  humiliations  and 
sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  I  have  dwelt  somewhat  lengthily  on  the  temptation 
to  create  a  lasting  memory  and  reputation  for  one's-self 
by  means  of  a  will,  because  a  man's  will  is  really  only 
a  preparation  for  death,  and  an  act  which  ought  to  be 
done  in  a  spirit  of  humility  and  repentance  j  con- 
sequently to  turn  it  into  mere  vainglory  is  really 
wrong.  A  man  should  make  his  will  in  the  same 


1 56  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

spirit  in  which  he  wishes  to  die ;  that  is,  in  a  spirit  of 
detachment  from  the  world,  of  humble  penitence,  and 
of  self-oblation  to  God.  One's  will  is  a  sort  of  con- 
clusion to  one's  life,  the  final  disposition  of  that  over 
which  we  have  control,  and  consequently  it  ought  to 
be  a  perfecting  of  one's  life,  after  which  nothing 
remains  to  be  done  save  to  die  well.  A  man  would 
do  well  to  remember  when  making  his  will  that  death 
is  a  penalty  involving  all  he  is  and  all  he  possesses ; 
he  should  think  of  Jesus  Christ  giving  up  Himself 
before  His  Passion  as  a  perpetual  Sacrifice  to  His 
Father,  and  so  strive  to  sanctify  whatever  God  has 
given  him  for  God.  Our  bodies  must  return  to  the 
dust  whence  they  came  forth — our  souls  must  be  left 
to  God,  but  while  we  have  the  power  of  offering  them 
voluntarily  to  Him,  we  should  do  so ;  and  as  to  our 
property,  let  us  adore  Him  Who  gave  it,  and  Who, 
while  calling  us  to  enter  upon  a  better  inheritance, 
will  require  due  account  as  to  how  we  have  used  what 
He  has  given  us.  ...  Therefore  see  what  you  can 
do  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  Church,  the  Bride 
and  Heiress  of  Christ.  .  .  ." ' 

1  Lettres,  No.  buov. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  157 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   ORATORY  AND   ITS   SYSTEM. 

WHILE  de  Condren  was  absorbed  in  what  more 
specially  concerned  the  inner  life,  study,  the 
direction  of  souls,  and  the  daily  intensifying  of  his 
own  personal  advance  in  the  Unitive  way,  de  Be'rulle 
was  following  the  latter  object  by  a  different  path. 
Political  labours  and  negotiations  thickened  round 
him,  royal  favours  were  heaped  upon  him — public 
opinion  pointed  him  out  as  the  rival  of  Cardinal 
Richelieu,  whose  enmity  was  speedily  kindled  in  con- 
sequence. But  de  Berulle  did  not  aim  at  the  position 
of  a  world-famed  statesman,  nor  even  when  appointed 
Counsellor  of  State  and  President  of  the  Council  of 
Regency  (as  he  was  in  the  year  1628),  did  these 
worldly  honours  turn  his  thoughts  aside  from  that 
which  had  always  been  his  one  first  thought.  Nor 
were  the  scarcely  less  fascinating  lures  of  science  more 
successful.  Prominently  concerned  in  all  that  was 
stirring  in  the  world  of  intellect, — the  patron  of  and 
first  to  discover  Descartes'  genius  as  well  as  that  of 


158  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

other  scientific  men — none  of  these  things  really  filled 
his  mind.  Perfectly  aware  that  his  health  was  break- 
ing, the  Cardinal  continued  to  toil  wearily  and  pain- 
fully at  his  public  duties,  both  political  and  those 
which  concerned  the  congregation,  but  meanwhile 
he  was  preparing  to  lay  them  all  aside,  and  give  in 
his  last  account  to  God.  As  early  as  April  1629,  he 
made  a  general  confession  to  Pere  de  Condren  in 
preparation  for  death,  and  he  was  repeatedly  heard 
to  express  an  earnest  desire,  if  it  might  be,  to  die 
while  actually  celebrating  the  Blessed  Sacrifice  of 
the  Eucharist. 

Towards  the  end  of  September  he  went  to  Fon- 
tainebleau,  where  the  King  required  his  presence 
concerning  a  mission  to  Gaston  d'Orleans,  who,  as 
usual,  was  in  trouble.  On  the  27th  the  Cardinal 
returned  to  Paris  so  ill  that  he  was  unable  to  get  to 
the  Mother  House,  and  remained  that  night  at  Saint 
Magloire.  A  day  or  two  of  rapidly  increasing  weak- 
ness followed,  during  which  de  BeVulle  could  not  be 
induced  to  give  up  any  part  of  his  office ;  but  on 
October  2nd,  while  celebrating  with  much  effort,  he 
fainted  away  at  the  end  of  the  Gospel.  Directly  that 
he  came  round,  however,  he  insisted  on  continuing 
the  service,  and  broke  down  finally  just  before  the 
Consecration,  while  saying  the  words  "  Hanc  igitur 
•i cm"  The  Oratorian  Fathers  placed  their 


THE  OR  A  TORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  159 

General  in  an  arm-chair,  and  gave  him  the  Viaticum 
and  Extreme  Unction ;  during  the  few  minutes  of 
needful  preparation  he  was  heard  to  cry  out,  "  Where 
is  He  ?  Let  me  see  Him  !  Let  me  adore  Him  !  Let 
me  receive  Him  1"  Almost  directly  after  receiving  the 
last  Sacraments  de  Berulle  passed  from  this  life,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-four. 

Although  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  Cardinal  de 
Be'rulle  had  not  framed  Constitutions  for  the  Con- 
gregation, or  provided  for  many  external  details,1  he 
had  done  much  towards  the  development  of  its 
internal  life,  and  to  enable  it  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
day.  From  first  to  last  his  leading  idea  was  "the 
close  connexion  of  the  new  Congregation  with  the 
Priesthood ;  its  special  union  with  the  Incarnate 
Word  above  all  in  His  Divine  Priesthood,  wherein 
He  is  chiefly  seen  as  adoring  the  Father,  and  medi- 
ating between  God  and  man."2  The  various  existing 
Religious  Orders,  he  said,  were  founded  by  men,  and 
have  some  special  evangelic  counsel  as  their  main 
object — the  Franciscans  poverty,  the  Carthusians 
solitude,  the  Jesuits  obedience;  but  the  Priesthood 
owns  no  Founder  save  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
therefore  it  is  pledged  to  seek  all  evangelic  perfec- 
tion, not  to  select  and  pursue  one  point  alone.  Too 
often  the  priests  of  God  have  forgotten  and  lowered 
1  L'Oratoire,  P£re  Perraud,  p.  164.  2  Ibid.  p.  81. 


i6o  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

this  their  high  standard,  and  Cardinal  de  Bundle's 
object  in  founding  the  Oratory  was  to  bring  them  back 
as  far  as  possible  to  it.  "  The  aim  of  the  Congrega- 
tion is  to  strive  after  the  perfection  of  the  Priesthood." 
Doubtless,  he  said,  this  should  be  the  aim  of  each 
several  priest,  but  united  action  is  ever  more  powerful 
than  the  best-intentioned  efforts  of  individuals  can  be, 
and  the  advantages  of  a  Community  life  to  those  who 
are  seeking  to  attain  a  high  standard  is  very  great. 

"  A  common  social  life,"  de  BeVulle  says,  "  is  most 
essential  to  the  perfection  of  the  ecclesiastical  state 
of  life,  for  solitude  is  injurious  not  merely  to  the 
weak,  but  also  to  those  who  need  many  things  to 
promote  their  work  which  a  Community  affords,  such 
as  participation  of  labour,  readiness  to  be  found  at  all 
times  by  the  people,  constant  co-operation  alike  in 
their  functions  in  the  Church  and  in  those  works  of 
charity  which  claim  their  care. 

"  In  addition  to  all  this  assistance  given  by  a  common 
life  to  the  external  work  of  the  sacred  ministry,  it  is 
a  great  help  to  those  whom  God  calls  to  Christian 
perfection  to  subject  themselves  to  the  guidance  of 
a  Congregation,  which  shelters  them  from  many 
hindrances,  and  assists  them  by  example,  by  con- 
ferences, and  many  like  means  which  are  unattainable 
to  individuals."1 

*  Rfcglemcnts  de  1'Oratoire,  Preface. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  161 


De  B&ulle  held  that  the  priesthood  is  no  less 
bound  to  seek  after  the  highest  perfection  than  those 
who  have  formally  taken  the  Religious  vows,  and 
therefore  he  would  not  have  his  priests  bound  by 
more  than  their  Ordination  Vows ;  they  were  to  aim 
at  the  Counsels  of  Perfection  in  virtue  of  that  total 
self-dedication,  which  he  looked  upon  as  the  very 
essence  of  sacerdotal  life.  "  His  intense  love  for  the 
Church,"  says  Bossuet,  "  kindled  in  him  the  desire  of 
forming  a  Company  which  he  would  inspire  with  no 
other  mind  than  that  of  the  Church ;  to  which  he 
would  give  no  rules  save  her  Canons,  no  superiors 
save  her  Bishops,  no  possessions  save  her  Charity,  no 
vows  save  those  of  Baptism  and  Holy  Orders.  Therein 
holy  liberty  becomes  a  holy  bondage ;  men  obey 
without  being  dependent ;  they  govern  without  com- 
manding ;  authority  finds  all  its  strength  in  gentleness, 
and  respect  needs  not  to  be  upheld  by  fear.  Love, 
banishing  fear,  works  miracles,  and  without  any  further 
yoke  than  its  own  sweet  self,  knows  not  only  how  to 
subject,  but  to  annihilate  self-will.  Here,  in  order  to 
form  true  priests,  they  are  led  to  the  Source  of  all 
Truth ; — they  have  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  their  hand, 
perpetually  seeking  its  letter  in  study,  its  spirit  in 
prayer,  its  depth  in  retreat,  its  efficacy  in  practice,  its 
end  in  charity — the  true  end  of  all,  '  Christiani 
L 


1 62  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

nominis  thesaurus* — the  one  treasure  of  Christianity, 
as  says  Tertullian."1 

Pere  de  Be'rulle  enlarges  on  his  idea  of  the  perfec- 
tion set  before  the  Priesthood  in  the  following  terms: — 

"Inasmuch  as  all  the  members  of  this  Congrega- 
tion are  bound  by  their  calling  to  seek  this  perfection, 
their  life  should  be  perfect,  submissive,  regulated, 
social,  edifying,  and  laborious. 

"Perfect  in  intention — seeking  God,  not  self,  Heaven, 
not  earth,  desiring  nothing  save  to  possess  Jesus,  and 
to  serve  Him  and  His  blessed  Mother,  putting  aside 
all  other  claims  as  though  they  were  not : 

"  Submissive  m  practice  and  functions,  acting  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  others : 

" Regulatedvd  exact  observance,  obeying  rules  for  the 
love  of  God  and  not  constrainedly : 

"  Social  in  humility  and  gentleness,  and  in  kindly  for- 
bearance towards  one  another,  ' alter  alterius  onera 
portate.  .  .  .  Non  qucz  sua  sunt  singuli  considerantes  ; ' 

"  Edifying  others  by  modesty,  by  a  humble  spirit  and 
holy  conversation : 

"  Laborious  externally,  through  constant  occupation 
and  work,  and  internally  through  a  hidden  life  ever 
seeking  God." 

De  Be'rulle  goes  on  to  press  the  fact  that  these 

1  Oraison  Funibre  du  Pire  Bourgoing,  Bossuet,  CEuvres,  edit 
Lachat,  vol.  xii.  p,  646. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  163 

obligations  depend,  not  upon  religious  vows,  but  upon 
sacerdotal  consecration : — 

"  To  which  manner  of  life  priests  are  called  by  the 
Life  of  the  Son  of  God,  which  they  are  bound  to  set 
forth  in  their  own,  inasmuch  as  our  part  is  to  live  and 
move  in  Jesus,  through  Whom  Alone  we  are  called. 

"The  perfect  life  contemplates  and  adores  His  Divine 
Life: 

"  The  life  of  submission  has  reference  to  His  sub- 
jection to  the  abjection  of  our  human  nature  in  every 
stage  from  infancy  to  death  : 

"  The  life  of  ride  has  reference  to  the  way  in  which 
His  Life  was  subjected  not  only  to  the  Father's  Will, 
but  to  the  ordinary  course  of  natural  things : 

"  Social  life  to  His  Life  among  the  Apostles,  with 
the  Blessed  Virgin  and  S.  Joseph,  etc. : 

"  The  life  of  edification  and  labour  to  His  Labours  on 
earth  and  His  Cross. 

"The  real  link  which  binds  this  Congregation  is 
Charity,  and  the  aim  of  those  who  form  it  is  to  seek 
after  evangelical  perfection  thereby,  not  by  any  solemn 
vows.  Consequently  their  life,  which  ought  to  be 
specially  interior,  is  hi  externals  ordinary ;  and  their 
attention  is  rather  fixed  on  practical  holiness,  on 
Jesus  Christ  and  His  Church,  on  their  duties,  their 
responsibilities  towards  souls,  than  on  ceremonies  and 
external  observances,  which  however  are  not  to  be 


164  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

neglected,  but  shaped  according  to  the  external  life  of 
the  Community." x 

Thus  while  other  Orders  devoted  themselves 
specially  to  preaching,  education,  or  contemplation, 
the  Oratory  contemplated  the  organisation  of  the 
secular  priest's  life,  whatever  might  be  his  individual 
vocation. 

"  If  you  are  capable  of  study,"  wrote  Pere  Amelote 
(the  friend  and  biographer  of  de  Condren),  "the 
Oratory  will  provide  you  with  quiet,  with  books,  and 
with  pulpits  from  whence  to  teach.  If  you  seek  re- 
tirement, it  offers  you  solitude  as  well  as  more  busy 
positions ;  if  you  yearn  after  a  life  of  penitence,  you 
will  find  men  among  us  as  ascetic  as  the  Carthusians 
themselves ;  or  if  you  are  consumed  by  zeal  for 
God's  service,  our  Society  offers  you  a  choice  of 
missions  and  cures.  Do  you  delight  in  music  and 
splendid  ritual  ?  You  can  follow  such.  In  a  word, 
the  Oratory  charitably  moulds  herself  to  every  Com- 
munity without  becoming  identical  with  any,  inas- 
much as  it  is  not  separated  from  the  Bishops,  and 
is  bound  to  all  natural  superiors."  * 

The  Constitutions  of  the  Oratory  were  not  finally 
framed  till  Pere  de  Condren's  Generalship,  but  they 
may  as  well  be  referred  to  here,  for  their  spirit 

Reglements,  quoted  by  Pere  Perraud,  p.  90. 
•  Vie  de  Condren,  ii.  p.  c.  viii. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  165 

was  altogether  that  of  Cardinal  de  Be'rulle,  and  his 
successor's  great  aim  was  to  act  in  all  things  according 
to  his  mind. 

The  Congregation  was  to  be  itself  the  source  of  and 
to  exercise  all  authority,  an  authority  the  ministration 
of  which  it  delegated  to  the  Superior  and  certain 
assistants,  but  with  the  right  reserved  of  questioning 
and  examining  their  government  by  means  of  a 
General  Assembly  held  every  three  years. 

A  living  Oratorian  makes  some  interesting  comments 
on  this  Government,  as  being  pre-eminently  constitu- 
tional. 

"It  is  curious,"  Pere  Adolphe  Perraud  says,  "to 
study  its  mechanism  by  the  light  of  the  period  in 
which  it  was  framed  and  carried  out.  It  was  in  that 
early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  on  all 
sides  power  was  becoming  more  centralised,  the 
exercise  of  authority  more  direct,  the  share  of  govern- 
ment to  which  inferiors  were  admitted  smaller; — 
when  Richelieu's  system  was  paving  the  way  for  that 
of  Louis  XIV., — on  the  eve  of  the  day  when  France 
was  so  dazzled  with  glory  as  to  forgive  the  *  Grand 
Roi'  for  presuming  to  say,  '  rEtat,  c'est  moi.J  It  was 
at  the  beginning  of  that  long  period  of  a  hundred  and 
seventy-five  years  during  which  the  national  represen- 
tation of  the  Etats  gentraux  was  to  be  altogether 
suspended,  and  when,  from  1614  to  1789,  France  was 


1  66  PR  IE  STL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

never  to  be  permitted  by  her  rulers  to  make  herself 
heard,  to  protest  against  the  fatal  wars  into  which  she 
was  dragged,  to  complain  of  the  taxes  which  crushed, 
or  to  control  by  means  of  her  representatives  the 
financial  ruin  which  was  being  wrought  for  her.  It 
was  in  such  times  as  these  that  the  founders  of  the 
Oratory  developed  a  Constitution  in  which  the  rights 
of  all  were  so  carefully  guarded,  which  obliged  supe- 
riors to  consider  the  opinions  of  their  inferiors,  which 
called  upon  authority  to  render  a  periodical  account 
of  its  acts,  and  to  be  set  aside  in  due  course  before  a 
higher  power,  namely,  that  of  the  Congregation  itself 
as  represented  by  its  deputies. 

"  One  might  marvel  less  at  this  ample  liberty  were 
we  contemplating  one  of  those  Religious  Orders  which 
were  founded  in  the  Middle  Ages,  contemporary  with 
a  condition  of  things  in  which  the  modern  system  of 
administrative  centralisation  was  unknown.  In  those 
days  the  system  of  assemblies  and  elections  was 
found  in  full  vigour  in  conventual  life,  both  among 
men  and  women,  long  before  it  was  dreamt  of  in  civil 
society,1  and  the  modem  declaimers  who  think  to 

1  After  analysing  the  Constitutions  which  S.  Dominic  gave  to 
his  Order  of  preachers,  Lacordaire  says  :  "  Such  were  the  Con- 
stitutions which  a  Christian  man  of  the  thirteenth  century  gave  to 
other  Christian  men,  and  assuredly  all  modem  charters  have  a 
strangely  despotic  savour  compared  with  this.  Thousands  of 
ttered  all  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  lived  during  six 


n  sa 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  167 

display  their  wisdom  by  denouncing  the  despotism 
and  lack  of  liberty  and  progress  of  the  Church,  would 
be  amazed,  were  they  to  read  the  Constitutions  of 
Clteaux,  or  S.  Dominic,  to  find  that  these  calumniated 
cloisters  were  so  many  small  states  governed  by 
magistrates  of  their  own  choosing,  and  uniting  practi- 
cally the  most  heroic  obedience  with  the  noblest  and 
most  real  liberty/'1 

The  Oratory  was  governed  by  a  triennial  Assembly 
of  deputies — one  of  whom  represented  every  twelve 
members — such  membership  requiring  a  man  to  be 
in  Priest's  Orders,  and  to  have  been  three  years  and 
three  months  in  the  Society.  This  Assembly  elected 
all  officers  and  reviewed  all  acts.  The  Superior 
General  was  to  be  re-elected  every  three  years, 
according  to  S.  Philip  Neri,  but  during  de  Be'rulle's 
life  no  measures  were  taken  to  rule  this  point  in 
France,  and  the  first  Assembly  under  de  Condren 
decided  that  the  Superior  should  hold  office  for  life 
"  in  honour  of  the  Everlasting  Priesthood  of  Jesus 
Christ" 

The  practical  rule  of  life  of  Cardinal  de  Be'rulle's 
Congregation  was  simple.  The  hours  kept  in  the 

hundred  years  under  this  regime,  peaceful  and  united— the  most 
industrious,  the  most  obedient,  the  freest  of  men." — (Memoire 
pour  le  Retablissement  des  Freres  Precheurs,  c.  ii.) 
1  L'Oratoire,  p.  93. 


168  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

seventeenth  century  were  everywhere  early,  and  the 
Oratorians  adopted  as  implying  no  great  austerity 
the  same  time  for  rising  shortly  after  given  by  S. 
Vincent  de  Paul  to  his  Sisters  of  Charity — 4  A.M., 
nine  o'clock  P.M.  being  the  hour  of  going  to  bed. 
The  first  act  of  the  day  was  an  hour's  meditation. 
Those  who  were  in  their  novitiate  spent  the  rest  of  it 
in  offices,  study  of  Holy  Scripture — a  portion  of 
which  was  to  be  learnt  by  heart  daily — and  of 
theology;  due  heed  to  exercise  and  recreation  being 
taken.  The  Fathers  who  had  completed  their  novi- 
tiate found  no  lack  of  employment  in  the  exercise  of 
their  priestly  functions,  education,  and  the  various 
intellectual  works  to  which  their  respective  capacities 
called  them.  There  was  no  severe  asceticism  among 
them — the  ordinary  rules  of  the  Church  were  sup- 
plemented by  some  few  days  of  special  observance, 
and  silence  was  kept  on  the  evenings  of  Friday  and 
Saturday  in  memory  of  our  Lord's  Seasons  of  retire- 
ment even  from  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  His  Apostles, 
as  well  as  on  all  fast  days,  and  when  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  was  exposed.  More  stress  was  laid  by 
their  pious  Founder  on  the  spirit  than  on  the  actual 
form  of  the  Oratorian  life.  "The  whole  object  and 
mind  of  this  institution,"  he  wrote,1  "is  special  love 
and  honour  to  Jesus  Christ  in  His  Eternal  Priest- 
1  Esprit  de  1'Oratoire. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  169 

hood,  the  Founder  of  all  priesthood;  and  to  maintain 
this  spirit  duly  we  must  recognise  Jesus  as  the 
Founder  and  Ruler  of  our  life.  So  too  we  must 
give  Him  all  and  more  than  the  reverence  and  sub- 
mission which  religious  Orders  are  wont  to  pay  to 
their  founders,  recognising  none  other  save  Himself, 
but  that  without  failing  in  obedience  to  such  things  as 
may  be  enjoined  in  His  Name  and  His  Authority  by 
those  who  are  His  representatives." 

This  devotion  to  our  Lord  ought  to  imply : — 
"A  great  union  of  our  mind   with  the  Mind  of 
Jesus,  which  must  rule  us  inwardly,  and  bear  fruit 
externally: 

"  Great  zeal  for  His  Honour,  as  the  object  of  our 
life: 

"  Renunciation  of  the  world  and  of  self,  as  the  cross 
we  are  called  on  to  bear  for  His  Glory : 
"  Perfect  imitation  of  His  Life  and  Ways: 
"  Diligent  co-operation    with   His  intentions  and 
works,  ever  remembering  that  the  order  of  nature 
may  subsist  without  our  labour,  but  not  so  the  order 
of  grace  which  is  committed  to  us : 

"  Great  respect  and  devotion  to  His  Church  : 
"  Earnest  efforts  to  advance  His  Kingdom  upon 
earth. 

"  In  short,  so  to  live  as  to  be  filled  with  Him,  seek- 
ing none  save  Him,  despising  all  else,  desiring  that 


1 70  PR  IE  STL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRA  NCR. 

He  may  even  now  be  All  in  all  to  us  through  Grace, 
as  hereafter  He  will  be  in  Glory." 

Every  act  was  to  be  offered  in  this  sense  to  our 
Lord.  On  first  waking,  the  Oratorian  was  to  adore 
His  Incarnation ;  dressing,  he  was  to  remember  how 
he  had  "  put  on  Christ"  in  Baptism  ;  his  cassock  was 
to  remind  him  of  the  Lamb  dumb  before  His  shearers, 
and  so  forth.  "  Time,"  de  Be'rulle  wrote,  "  is  a  pos- 
session bought  for  us  by  the  Son  of  God,  in  order  that 
by  means  of  it  we  may  acquire  nothing  less  than  God 
Himself.  And  Priests  are  more  bound  than  other 
men  to  use  it  for  this  end,  inasmuch  as  it  is  their  part 
so  to  employ  time,  that  they  may  win  not  only  their 
own  blessed  eternity,  but  that  of  other  men." 

As  near  an  approach  to  continual  meditation  on  the 
High  Priesthood  of  Christ  as  human  imperfection 
admits  of  should  be  the  source  from  whence  His 
chosen  servants  must  drink  life  and  strength  for  their 
weighty  office.  From  daily  meditation  upon  the  Life 
and  Words  of  the  Son  of  God  there  will  inevitably 
result : 

"  Acts  <ti  Adoration,  inasmuch  as  every  action  of  the 
Son  of  God  is  Divine  : 

"  Of  Self-dedication,  for  Christ  has  bought  us  by  His 
ever  priceless  act;  and  meditating  on  any  of  His 
words,  acts,  or  thoughts,  we  should  renew  our  gift  of 
ourselves  in  thanksgiving  for  that  special  thing : 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  171 

"  Of  Thanksgiving)  for  that  He  came  on  earth  for 
us ;  His  life  and  whatsoever  He  did  being  all  for  us  : 

"  Of  Love.  All  He  did  was  Love  for  us,  and  we 
are  bound  to  answer  Him  in  love,  renouncing  all  mere 
earthly  love  for  His  sake  : 

"  Of  Zeal,  seeking  that  He  may  be  known  and  loved 
of  all  men,  that  His  Love  may  bear  due  fruit : 

"  Of  Petition.  His  actions  are  the  source  of  all 
Good  Gifts,  and  we  must  ask  all  we  need  through 
them." 

There  is  one  very  touching  and  beautiful  admoni- 
tion given  by  Cardinal  de  Be'rulle  to  the  members  of 
his  Congregation,  namely,  that  their  petitions  should 
be,  not  personal  and  selfish,  but  general ;  that  they 
ask,  not  that  their  own  needs  only  may  be  supplied, 
but  that  whatever  they  pray  for  be  for  their  neighbours, 
their  community,  the  whole  Church,  seeking  God's 
Glory  in  all.  If  you  feel  cold  and  languid  in  prayer, 
if  routine  chills  your  energies,  and  the  spirit  of  devo- 
tion grows  slack  and  formal  within  you,  it  will  be 
rekindled  by  dwelling  on  the  universality  of  the  Love 
of  Jesus  Christ  You,  as  a  Priest,  will  remind  your- 
self that  the  salvation  of  a  soul,  the  salvation  of  your 
flock,  may  hang  upon  the  earnestness  of  your  prayer ; 
that  with  you  it  rests  to  rescue  this  soul  from  tempta- 
tion or  that  other  from  despair ;  to  cast  down  Satan's 
triumphs  and  stablish  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  Such 


1 72  PR  IE  STL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

thoughts  as  these  will  surely  revive  the  slackening 
warmth  of  a  man's  heart,  and  enable  him  to  cast  him- 
self with  fresh  fervour  before  that  Loving  Saviour  Who 
has  said,  "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  Name,  it 
shall  be  given  unto  you." 

Cardinal  de  Be'rulle  also  recommended  the  practice 
on  which  de  Condren,  as  we  have  already  seen,  laid 
so  much  stress,  the  "  examen  de  prevoyance?  or  fore- 
casting the  duties  and  probable  temptations  and  trials 
of  the  coming  day,  so  as  to  meet  them  forearmed,  and 
strengthened  by  prayer  and  self-humiliation. 

Needless  to  say  how  important  a  feature  in  each 
priestly  life  he  esteemed  the  Blessed  Sacrifice  of  the 
Altar.  De  BeYulle's  death  was  but  the  final  act  of  his 
life,  through  which  the  Holy  Eucharist  was  ever  his 
chief  desire,  his  stay  and  consolation.  "  Those  holy 
souls  who  endure  life  and  long  for  death,"  he  wrote,1 
"  who  count  this  world  as  an  exile,  find  their  consola- 
tion in  the  Eucharist,  and  that  because  they  grow  in 
the  Love  of  God  through  the  Divine  virtue  of  that 
celestial  manna,  a  privilege  peculiar  to  this  life ;  be- 
cause their  King  and  Saviour  vouchsafes  therein  to  be 
really  present  with  them ;  and  because  by  it  He  has 
given  them  the  means  of  offering  a  worthy  homage  to 
His  Heavenly  Father.  The  Blessed  Sacrament  is  the 
Manna  of  our  desert,  the  Paschal  Lamb  of  our  exile,  our 
1  Discours  de  TEucharistie. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  173 

Food  till  we  reach  the  Mount  Horeb,  the  Victim  of 
propitiation  to  us,  our  praise-offering,  our  one  perfect 
price  by  which  we  obtain  all  things  from  the  Father." 
With  respect  to  all  intellectual  labour — (and  the 
Oratorians  have  numbered  no  ordinary  intellects 
among  them) — their  Founder  still  insisted  on  the 
precept  already  quoted  from  their  original  institu- 
tion, that  knowledge  is  not  to  be  sought  for  itself 
alone,  but  that  it  may  be  used  to  set  forward  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  souls: 

"NON    TAM    CIRCA     SCIENTIAM    QUAM     CIRCA     USUM 
SCIENTLE." 

Cardinal  de  Bundle's  instructions  to  his  Congrega- 
tion on  the  right  use  of  intellectual  study  are  founded 
on  the  words  of  Holy  Scripture ;  "  the  Lord  is  a  God  of 
knowledge,  and  by  Him  actions  are  weighed  "  (i  Sam. 
2,  3),  or  as  it  is  in  the  Vulgate,  "  Deus  scientiarum 
Dominus  est,  et  ipsi  prseparantur  cogitationes."  He 
enjoins  them  to  ponder  well  over  these  words,  and 
not  to  defraud  God  of  that  which  is  His,  by  assuming 
any  powers  of  mind  or  intellectual  capacity  to  be 
their  own  gifts — nay,  it  is  a  very  sacrilege  for  a  man 
to  attribute  the  beauty,  or  force,  or  depth  of  his  con- 
ception and  ideas  to  himself,  all  coming  from  Him 
Who  breathed  into  man's  nostrils  the  breath  of  life, 
Who  is  "the  Father  of  Spirits"  (Heb.  xii.  9),  and 
"the  Father  of  lights"  (James  i.  17).  "How/7  the 


174  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Cardinal  asks,  "shall  we  glory  in  our  petty  know- 
ledge of  such  small  earthly  things,  and  not  rather  lose 
ourselves  in  the  contemplation  and  hope  of  the  glori- 
ous things  which  await  us  ?  What  are  we  ?  What  do 
we  know  ?  A  handful  of  dust,  knowing  somewhat  of 
earthly  science  and  human  language,  and  even  that 
but  imperfectly  and  uncertainly.  But  supposing  such 
knowledge  to  be  carried  to  the  greatest  perfection, 
what  is  it  in  comparison  with  the  speech  and  the 
knowledge  of  angels,  still  more  with  that  of  God? 
We  are  called  to  greater  things ;  we  are  called  to  know 
not  this  world,  but  the  Author  of  the  world,  to  live  an 
endless  life  in  Him.  Surely  it  is  no  small  dignity  to 
live  hi  God,  to  share  His  Eternal  happiness  !  yet  that 
is  our  life,  and  for  ever — let  us  never  rest  satisfied  in 
anything  short  of  that." 

De  Be'rulle  warns  his  Congregation  against  the 
perils  which  beset  the  studious  and  intellectual; — 
presumption,  arrogance,  vanity;  quoting  S.  Bernard's 
saying,  that  "  some  men  learn  in  order  to  know,  and 
that  is  curiosity:  others  to  be  known,  and  that  is 
vanity :  while  others  learn  in  order  to  edification,  and 
that  is  charity."  "Alii  sciunt  ut  sdant,  ft  est  curiositas; 
alii  sciunt  ut  sciantur,  et  est  vanitas  ;  alii  sciunt  ut 
(zdificent)  et  est  caritas"  (In  Cant  36). 

Recreation  times  were  to  be  watchfully  used ;  a  few 
moments'  prayer  were  to  precede  them,  and  the  ejacu- 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  175 

lation,  "  The  Word  was  made  Flesh  and  dwelt  among 
us,"  in  order  that  His  Miiid  and  Conversation  among 
men  might  be  remembered  as  the  model  of  that  of 
His  servants,  a  habit  which  de  Be'rulle  said  would 
cause  their  intercourse  to  be  after  S.  Paul's  precept, 
and  "whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things 
are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever 
things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatso- 
ever things  are  of  good  report "  (Phil.  iv.  8),  would  be 
the  groundwork  of  their  intercourse. 

In  treating  of  the  special  duties  of  superiors,  Pere  de 
Be'rulle  says,  "  Our  work  is  to  become  holy  even  as 
He  is  Holy,  and  through  His  Holy  Spirit  to  learn  how 
to  promote  the  sanctification  of  others  by  our  example 
and  by  our  labours.  All  are  bound  to  work  for  this 
end  perseveringly  and  faithfully,  giving  all  our  best 
efforts,  our  longings  and  prayers,  in  a  word,  using 
every  gift  of  nature  and  of  grace  which  we  may 
possess  thereto.  Each  one  of  us  is  bound  to  do  this, 
though  after  divers  manners — each  according  to  his 
power  and  according  to  the  work  assigned  him — some 
in  prayer,  others  in  labour;  some  in  ruling  prudently, 
others  in  accepting  direction  meekly,  for  to  rule  well 
and  be  ruled  well  is  a  special  gift  from  God,  Who 
gives  wisdom  to  some  and  docility  to  others — to  the 
one  authority,  and  to  the  other  obedience — imparting 
His  Grace  alike  to  various  conditions,  giving  some- 


176  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

times  indeed  a  more  abundant  grace  to  those  who  are 
ruled  than  to  those  who  rule.  Thus  His  secret 
counsels  should  mould  us  all  in  humility  and  mutual 
respect — superiors  revering  the  hidden  grace  in  those 
who  are  subject  to  them,  and  these  again  deferring  to 
God's  Authority  as  represented  by  their  superiors — all 
the  while  being  bound  together  in  the  unity  of  the 
One  Spirit,  Which  worketh  amid  the  'diversities  of 
gifts/" 

Superiors  are  warned  to  consider  their  duties  under 
five  heads  : — 

I.  What  they  owe  to  God  : 

II.  What  they  owe  to  themselves : 

III.  What  they  owe  to  their  neighbour : 

IV.  What  they  owe  to  those  under  them : 

V.  What  they  owe  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
"  Whose  Blood  we  apply,  Whose  Spirit  we  impart,  in 
Whose  Power  we  act,  for  Whose  Glory  we  work." 

The  Superior  will  continually  lift  up  his  heart  to 
God  as  the  Father  of  Light,  and  will  study  to  preserve 
a  ceaseless  dependence  upon  that  Power  Which  is  the 
source  and  strength  of  all  human  power.  He  will 
strive  to  act  solely  as  God's  Instrument.  With  respect 
to  himself,  he  will  be  diligent  "in  abnegation  of 
earthly  things,  in  seeking  after  Heavenly  things ;  in 
patience  towards  that  which  concerns  others,  in 
enduring  his  responsibilities  rather  as  a  cross  to  be 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  177 

borne  than  with  any  delight  or  satisfaction  in  them, 
watching  that  he  himself  and  those  under  him  be 
ruled  by  the  Apostle's  precept,  "If  we  live  in  the 
Spirit,  let  us  also  walk  in  the  Spirit"  (Gal.  v.  25). 
As  regards  his  neighbour,  the  Superior  is  to  be 
all  charity,  patience,  kindness,  solicitude,  edification. 
Once  a  week  he  is  to  read  over  passages  from  S.  Paul, 
which  he  is  to  recall  and  practise  many  times  a  day : 
"Charity  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind,  .  .  .  vaunteth 
not  itself — seeketh  not  her  own — is  not  easily  pro- 
voked, .  .  .  beareth  all  things,  .  .  .  hopeth  all  things, 
endureth  all  things"  (i  Cor.  xiii.  4-7).  "We  are 
unto  God  a  sweet  savour  ot  Christ"  (2  Cor.  ii.  15). 
And  with  respect  to  his  responsibilities,  the  Superior 
is  rather  to  maintain  them  as  God's  Will  than  to 
shrink  under  the  burden.  All  his  functions  must  be 
performed  with  authority  and  charity  duly  blended: 
he  will  give  but  few  commands,  and  will  rather  lead 
those  subject  to  him  to  do  their  duty  by  the  force  of 
example,  of  love,  and  of  prayer ;  continually  keeping 
in  mind  that  he  holds  his  authority  not  for  the  sake  of 
authority,  but  for  love's  sake,  and  that  inasmuch  as 
all  his  authority  comes  from  One  Who  is  both  Lord  of 
all  and  Lamb  of  God,  it  had  need  be  guided  more 
by  gentleness  and  humility  than  by  power — more  in 
patience  than  in  strength.  In  the  same  spirit  of 
humility  the  Superior  was  not  to  despise  any  details 
II 


1 78  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

of  his  office,  however  small.  "  Moreover,"  as  the 
Cardinal  says,  "  everything  that  refers  to  God  is  great, 
and  there  is  nothing  little  in  God's  House."  Accord- 
ingly the  Superior  of  the  Oratorians  was  from  time  to 
time  to  superintend  personally  every  household  detail, 
however  humble  or  distasteful. 

With  respect  to  the  faults  of  those  under  him,  de 
BeVulle  says, — 

"  I.  He  will  humble  himself  in  other  men's  faults, 
bearing  in  mind  that  he  would  commit  greater  faults 
than  theirs  if  God  left  him  to  himself. 

"  II.  He  will  impute  their  faults  to  himself  in  God's 
Sight,  inasmuch  as  his  lack  of  wisdom,  of  charity,  or 
of  good  example  may  have  led  to  them. 

"  III.  He  will  bear  in  mind  that  God  seeks  to 
train  and  perfect  him  through  the  shortcomings  of 
others. 

u  IV.  He  will  strive  to  foresee  and  avert  faults  by 
his  prudence  in  preventing  occasions  of  falling ; — he 
will  bear  them  with  patience,  restrain  them  by 
example,  amend  them  by  love,  correct  them,  but  '  in 
the  spirit  of  love,'  not  that  of  rule;  and  he  will  beware 
of  the  false  zeal  which  is  a  temptation  to  some 
superiors,  rather  cultivating  the  utmost  gentleness  and 
patience  in  honour  and  imitation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
Who  bore  so  tenderly  and  patiently  with  the  roughness 
and  ignorance  of  His  Apostles." 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  179 

But  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?  Surely 
nothing  short  of  a  very  continual  recollection  and 
sense  of  God's  Presence  can  enable  a  man  so  to  "  lose 
himself,  that  he  may  find  himself  in  God"?  So 
thought  Cardinal  de  BeYulle,  for  he  goes  on  to  say, — 
"  The  works  of  God  must  be  done  in  the  Spirit  of 
God  ;  the  works  of  light  in  the  Spirit  of  Light ;  the 
works  of  Grace  by  the  help  of  Grace,  and  not  by  the 
mere  darkness  of  nature  and  our  earthly  mind.  When 
God  created  the  world,  He  made  the  light  first,  and 
in  that  light  all  His  other  works,  and  He  '  saw '  or 
examined  everything  that  He  had  made  by  \\.\ 
according  to  which  example  we  should  view  and 
review  our  actions,  not  to  encourage  self  satisfaction, 
but  to  rule  them  more  and  more  after  the  counsels  ot 
perfection  and  our  Dear  Lord's  intentions.  We  need 
to  recollect  ourselves,  hour  by  hour,  so  as  to  acquire 
a  holy  habit  of  always  living  and  acting  as  in  God's 
Presence.  It  is  well,  in  addition  to  our  ordinary 
religious  exercises,  that  the  Superior  should  daily  give 
a  short  time  to  self-examination  as  regards  his  office, 
studying  wherein  he  can  do  more  to  promote  both  his 
own  perfection  and  that  of  others." 

The  Superior's  motto  was  to  be,  "  Thy  Kingdom 
come.  Even  so  come,  Lord  Jesus !" 

Such  being  the  requirements  for  the  General  of 
the  Oratorians,  it  was  not  unnatural  that  the  Congrc- 


i8o  -PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

gation,  immediately  after  Cardinal  de  Berulle's  death, 
should  have  fixed  upon  de  Condren  as  his  worthiest 
successor.     At  that  moment  the  latter  was  at  Nancy, 
acting  as  mediator  between  Louis  XIII.  and  his  trouble- 
some brother,  Gaston  d'Orldans.     The  Queen  Mother 
had  opposed  the  Duke  of  Organs'  marriage  with  a 
daughter  of  the  Duke  de  Nevers,  and  the  spoiled 
boy  had  plunged  into  every  kind  of  wild  excess  in  his 
disappointment.     After  a  while  he  took  refuge  with 
the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  whence  it  was  important  to 
Richelieu's  policy  to  recall  him,  and  Pere  de  Condren, 
who  had  more  influence  over  the  wayward  prince  than 
any  one  else,  was  sent  upon  the  ungrateful  embassy. 
He  succeeded  first  in  persuading  the  Duke  to  leave 
Lorraine  and  return  to  his  own  country,  and  after  a 
time,  in  spite  of  Richelieu — who  rather  fomented  than 
appeased  the  personal  difference  between  the  King  and 
the  Duke — de  Condren  brought  about  a  reconciliation 
and  a  meeting  between  the  royal  brothers.     It  was 
however  during  the  earlier  stage  of  these  negotiations 
that  the  Oratorians  in  Paris,  fearing  some  intervention 
from  the  high  hand  of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  hastened 
to  elect  their  General  without  summoning  deputies 
from   their  provincial   houses.     De   Condren   wrote 
from  Nancy,  earnestly  deprecating  this  proceeding  as 
informal  and  dangerous,  but  before  his  letter  arrived 
the   Congregation  assembled  and  he    himself   was 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  181 

elected.  On  receiving  due  intimation  of  this  election, 
de  Condren  wrote  as  follows  : — 

"  Very  dear  and  reverend  Fathers, — May  the  grace 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  ever  with  you.  Were  I 
to  consider  nought  save  what  I  owe  to  you,  I  should 
reproach  myself  for  my  delay  in  answering  your  letter. 
But  considering  the  importance  of  the  subject,  I  hope 
you  will  not  blame  me  for  having  taken  a  few  days 
for  turning  to  God,  and  seeking  His  Guidance  in 
coming  to  a  determination. 

"  I  have  had  to  struggle  against  my  reason  before 
I  could  resign  myself  to  your  election.  Experience 
of  my  own  incapacity  and  infirmity,  the  great  drawing 
to  retirement  which  God  has  given  me,  specially  since 
the  death  of  our  reverend  Father,  my  intention  of 
spending  the  remainder  of  my  days  at  the  Feet  of  our 
Dear  Lord,  and  the  very  love  I  bear  in  my  soul 
towards  the  Congregation,  all  led  me  to  wish  that  it 
should  have  some  other  Superior.  In  all  sincerity, 
this  last  difficulty  has  been  the  greatest.  I  knew  that 
the  late  Cardinal  de  Berulle,  our  beloved  Father  and 
Founder,  always  hoped  that  when  he  was  gone  God 
would  look  mercifully  upon  the  Congregation,  and 
lead  it  on  to  higher  degrees  of  grace,  and  this  we  must 
all  desire.  .  .  .  Since  his  death  I  have  felt  much  fear, 
many  longings.  ...  I  have  prayed  for  God's  Mercy, 
and  that  He  would  give  us  a  Superior  after  His  Own 


1 82  PRIES TL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRA  NCE. 

Heart ;  that  He  would  guide  your  thoughts  and  acts 
by  His  Holy  Spirit  of  counsel." 

After  dwelling  at  some  length  on  the  excellences 
of  the  late  Cardinal,  and  regretting  that  the  Congrega- 
tion had  not  profited  to  a  greater  extent  by  his  teach- 
ing and  example,  de  Condren  continues  : — 

"  I  was  praying  that  my  own  unworthiness  might 
not  be  any  hindrance  to  God's  Grace  among  us, 
when  the  tidings  of  your  election  came  greatly  to  my 
surprise  and  dismay ;  and  now  my  prayer  is  that  I  be 
no  hindrance  to  the  Congregation.  .  .  .  There  are 
many  things  which  make  me  fear,  but  I  will  not  doubt 
God's  Aid.  I  will  glory  in  my  infirmities,  so  that  His 
Grace  alone  may  abound  in  me.  My  joy  shall  be 
that  I  am  nothing, — Jesus  Christ  All  in  all  to  you.  I 
resign  myself  to  His  Power,  in  the  hope  that  He  Who 
has  begun  the  work  will  fulfil  it,  inasmuch  as  I  feel 
bound  to  yield  to  your  choice.  I  do  this  the  more 
readily  that  practically  the  Generalship  of  the  Con- 
gregation implies  a  general  servitude,  and  that  I  am 
thereby  obliged  to  serve  you  all,  and  to  belong  more 
to  each  one  of  you  than  to  myself.  It  is  an  adminis- 
tration which  constrains  me  to  be  all  things  to  all 
men  within  our  Company ;  to  share  the  duties  of  each, 
to  bear  the  cross  of  all,  to  take  my  part  in  their 
troubles,  since  it  is  God's  Will  that  every  one  should 
bear  His  Cross.  I  pray  Him  to  give  me  grace  to 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  183 

carry  mine,  even  such  as  He  lays  upon  me,  and 
that  I  may  willingly  accept  my  share  in  that  of  others. 
It  will  always  be  a  great  joy  to  me  to  bear  anything 
for  any  among  you.  '  Yea,  and  if  I  be  offered  upon 
the  sacrifice  and  service  of  your  faith,  I  joy,  and  do 
rejoice  with  you  all '  (Phil.  ii.  17). 

"  I  give  myself  unreservedly  to  God  for  you,  and  to 
you  for  God.  Let  this  letter  abide  in  witness  against 
me  if  I  ever  fail,  even  as  Moses  caused  the  Book  of 
the  Law  to  be  put  aside  in  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant 
as  a  witness  between  Joshua  and  the  people  of  Israel. 
I  am  and  shall  be  all  my  life  and  with  my  whole 
affection — so  I  ask  of  our  Dear  Lord  and  His  holy 
Mother — the  very  humble,  obedient  and  faithful 
servant  of  each  one  of  you, 

"  CHARLES  DE  CONDREN, 
"Pr.  de  1'Or.de  J&us.1 

"NANCY,  November^  1629." 

Writing  to  a  great  personage,  a  devoted  friend  of 
the  Order,  in  reply  to  congratulations  on  his  appoint- 
ment, the  new  General  says  :— 

"  I  do  not  hold,  sir,  that  the  Generalship  is  an 
advantage,  or  a  means  of  power,  as  the  world  thinks. 
If  one  looks  at  it  from  a  Christian's  point  of  view  it  is 
but  a  general  bondage  which  constrains  me  to  serve 
every  member  of  the  Congregation,  to  be  more  at 
1  Lettres,  No.  xxxv. 


184  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FKANCE. 

their  disposal  than  at  my  own,  and  to  bear  their 
Cross.  And  the  power  seemingly  committed  to  me  is 
not  meant  to  subject  any  one  whatsoever  to  me,  but 
to  subject  all  those  entrusted  to  me  to  God,  His 
Guidance  and  His  Kingdom.  It  means  that  I  should 
subject  myself  to  God  in  each  one  of  them,  and  to 
them  in  Him,  so  that  practically  if  before  I  had  any 
liberty  or  right  over  myself,  it  is  taken  away  by  this 
Superiorship,  and  transferred  to  those  to  whom  I  am 
given  and  subjected  by  God."1 

One  of  Pere  de  Condren's  first  acts,  August  1631, 
was  to  call  a  General  Assembly  of  the  Congrega- 
tion, which  now — twenty  years  after  its  foundation — 
numbered  71  houses;  and  as  a  deputy  was  elected  for 
every  ten  priests,  and  fifty-five  deputies  attended  the 
Assembly,  the  Congregation  must  have  consisted  of 
550  members. 

After  passing  various  acts  which  established  and 
confirmed  the  Society,  Pere  de  Condren  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  opportunity  to  humble  himself  before 
the  Assembly,  asking  forgiveness  for  the  imperfections 
with  which  he  had  fulfilled  his  office  as  Superior,  and 
requesting  to  be  allowed  to  resign  it,  and  that  then 
and  there  another  General  should  be  chosen.  As 
might  be  expected,  the  Assembly  replied  to  this  by 
"  approving,  confirming  and  ratifying  "  his  election  as 
1  Lettres,  No.  xxxvi. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  185 

positively  as  it  was  possible  to  do,  and  the  official 
acts  say  that  "  this  was  accepted  after  some  persistent 
refusal,  at  the  urgent  entreaty  of  the  Assembly." 

A  letter  written  to  one  of  the  Fathers,  who  ap- 
parently shrank  from  a  post  of  responsibility,  gives  so 
clear  a  picture  of  de  Condren's  own  mind  on  this 
subject,  that  we  may  read  his  acquiescence  in  his 
appointment  by  its  light. 

"  May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  live  ever  in  you  by 
His  Holy  Spirit,  according  to  His  Heavenly  Will. 

"  He  will  be  your  Strength  and  your  Guide  in  the 
office  which  you  bear  with  Him  and  for  love  of  Him, 
and  so  far  as  He  sees  it  to  be  for  your  soul's  good 
He  will  also  be  your  Consolation.  With  Him  nothing 
should  be  difficult  or  disagreeable,  for  He  is  All- 
sufficient,  and  nothing  is  more  in  the  spirit  of  true 
charity,  or  fulfils  its  aim  more  perfectly,  than  forgetful- 
ness  of  our  own  interests  and  our  personal  inclinations 
in  the  work  which  our  vocation  sets  before  us  for  the 
Love  of  Jesus ;  as  also  nothing  tends  more  to  the 
perfecting  of  our  faith  than  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to 
all  thoughts  concerning  our  own  sufficiency  or  in- 
sufficiency. Supposing  one  to  possess  every  possible 
human  and  angelic  virtue,  what  could  one  do  without 
Jesus  Christ  ?  Nothing,  emphatically  nothing.  With- 
out Him  we  cannot  turn  our  own  capabilities,  or 
Angels'  ministrations,  or  man's  works,  no,  not  even 


186  PRTESTL  Y  LIFE  TN  FRANCE. 

God's  Own  Gifts,  to  any  good  account;  for  He  has 
said,  *  Without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing/  And  if  we 
attempt  to  use  any  of  these  things  without  Him,  the 
result  will  be  self-love  and  wilfiilness,  which  can  only 
tend  to  our  condemnation. 

"  But,  on  the  other  hand,  whatever  insufficiency  we 
may  feel  in  ourselves,  through  Jesus  Christ  we  can  do 
whatsoever  God  would  ask  of  us :  *  I  can  do  all  things 
through  Him  Which  strengthened  me.'  No  indeed, 
we  can  never  be  so  incapable  but  that  Jesus  Christ 
will  fulfil  in  us  and  with  us  all  the  duties  of  our 
vocation.  S.  Peter  was  less  prepared  to  be  chief  of 
the  Apostles  when  the  Son  of  God  called  him  than 
you  are  for  your  office :  whence  we  see  that  an  un- 
learned fisherman  could  become  Head  of  the  Church, 
the  rock  on  which  Christ's  Church  is  built,  that 
Church  which  was  to  enlighten  the  world  and  convert 
the  greatest  of  human  intellects,  through  Jesus  Christ 
I  should  be  much  more  afraid  of  committing  the 
guidance  of  our  members  to  you,  if  you  believed  in 
your  own  capability :  in  that  case  I  might  with  good 
reason  fear  that  you  would  sink  in  helpless  confusion. 
He  does  not  love  to  see  His  servants  presuming  on 
their  own  strength.  But  inasmuch  as  you  are  con- 
scious of  your  own  insufficiency,  I  feel  that  I  need 
only  ask  a  more  lively  faith  in  His  Sufficiency  for 
you  :  only  need  say  in  S.  Peter's  words — *  Grace  and 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  187 

peace  be  multiplied  unto  you  through  the  knowledge 
of  God,  and  of  Jesus  our  Lord,  according  as  His 
divine  power  hath  given  unto  us  all  things  that  per- 
tain unto  life  and  godliness,  through  the  knowledge  of 
Him  that  hath  called  us  to  glory  and  virtue;  .  .  . 
you  giving  all  diligence,  add  to  your  virtue  faith' 
(2  Peter  i.  2-5). 

"  It  is  great  ignorance  of  Jesus  Christ  not  to  know 
that  it  is  through  Him  that  God's  Grace  is  given  to 
us,  and  that  in  that  Grace,  not  any  that  is  our  own, 
we  can  carry  on  His  work,  nor  would  God  have  us 
lean  on  any  other  strength.  Give  yourself  up  then  to 
Him  in  order  that  you  may  attain  to  that  strength. 
Do  not  dwell  on  what  power  of  your  own  you  may 
think  to  possess;  but  rather  fix  your  mind  on  what 
God  requires  of  you.  David  was  punished  for  reckon- 
ing up  the  people, — that  is,  for  trusting  to  his  own 
strength.  We  must  think  of  nothing  save  what  God 
requires  of  us. 

"  And  when  we  feel  as  though  we  were  ready  for 
chat,  whatsoever  it  may  be,  we  must  not  stop  short  in 
any  good  intention  or  disposition  which  we  may  feel 
in  ourselves;  rather  we  must  give  ourselves  freely  to 
the  Son  of  God,  purposing  to  do  whatever  our  duty 
is,  in  Him,  and  through  His  Grace;  firmly  believing 
that  without  Him  we  can  but  misuse  even  that  grace, 
whereas  with  Him  we  can  do  all  things  whatsoever 


i88  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FKANCE. 

He  may  require  of  us.  Look  upon  your  obligations 
as  the  secret  indications  of  His  Will — there  can  be 
none  better ;  and  instead  of  taking  measure  of  your 
own  virtues,  adore  His  Grace  set  forth  in  you.  The 
soul  which  adores  Jesus  Christ  working  in  itself  will 
never  sink  down  discouraged,  because  that  soul  will 
undertake  every  duty  in  His  Power  and  Strength, 
and  will  see  the  Lord  in  every  chain  and  tie.  So, 
too,  the  soul  which  does  not  pause  to  dwell  upon  its 
own  sufficiency  or  insufficiency,  but  places  itself 
wholly  in  His  Hands  to  do  whatsoever  He  may 
require,  need  never  fear  to  go  astray  while  doing 
His  work ;  that  soul's  confidence  is  too  deeply 
rooted.  '  I  will  glory  of  the  things  which  concern 
mine  infirmities '  (2  Cor.  xi.  30). 

"  And  I,  for  my  part,  will  glory  in  that  you  cannot 
fulfil  the  duties  of  your  office  without  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  a  guarantee  to  me,  a  glory  to  the  Congregation, 
and  an  untold  gain  to  the  community  under  you, 
that  Jesus  Christ  Alone  is  your  Light,  your  Coun- 
sellor, your  Strength.  The  less  of  self  in  what  you 
do  the  more  of  His  Grace  there  will  be;  the  less 
you  see  cause  for  trusting  in  yourself  the  more 
entirely  you  will  lean  on  Him,  and  the  more  simply 
you  will  do  His  work.  Yes,  be  sure— if  you  are 
nothing,  He  will  be  everything ;  for  He  never  fails 
us  when  we  are  '  about  His  business/  and  all 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  189 

that  is  lacking  on  our  side  He  supplies  tenfold  on 
His. 

"  Go  on  then  in  mistrust  of  yourself,  but  be  strong 
in  the  faith  and  grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  do  not 
give  us  cause  to  say  to  you  as  our  Lord  said  to  S. 
Peter,  '  O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou 
doubt?'  I  hope  soon  to  see  you,  and  then  we  will 
take  counsel  together  concerning  your  own  doings 
and  those  of  your  community.  I  am  most  heartily 
yours,"  etc. 

" .  .  .  .  Give  yourself  up  to  Jesus  Christ  without 
self-contemplation,  without  heeding  your  own  state 
of  mind  or  condition,  without  wishing  to  be  or  to 
have  anything  whatsoever,  without  being  disturbed 
by  what  goes  on  within  you.  Leave  it  to  Him  to 
work  in  you  exactly  as  He  may  see  fit.  Do  you 
cease  to  be  anything,  that  He  may  be  everything. 
Seek  in  such  a  spirit  to  obtain  to  that  'glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God'  of  which  S.  Paul 
speaks  (Rom.  viii.  21)."' 

What  he  preached,  Pere  de  Condren  practised, 
and  for  the  next  few  years  his  labours  were  very 
abundant ;  his  principle  in  all,  after  that  so  forcibly 
expressed  above  of  dependence  upon  the  Lord, 
being  that  of  acting  with  and  submitting  to  the 
Bishops.  "  Our  Congregation,"  he  said  at  this  time, 
1  Lettres,  Nos.  xii.  and  xiii. 


190  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

"is  so  entirely  formed  under  the  Bishops'  hands, 
that  it  cannot  work  heartily  or  hope  for  God's 
Blessing  without  this  union,  which  we  hold  to  be  the 
very  source  of  our  life  and  strength.  Of  a  truth,  the 
Bishops  being  the  pastors  whom  God  has  set  ovei 
His  Church,  ...  we  are  bound  to  see  the  Son  oi 
God  in  them,  and  to  cleave  to  Him  through  them. 
And  that  all  the  more  because  our  Society  is  specially 
founded  in  the  love  and  grace  of  our  Lord's  Eternal 
Priesthood,  and  that  we  aim  at  the  fullest  attainment 
of  the  spirit  thereof,  seeking  to  love,  honour  and 
adhere  to  it  as  our  chief  object  and  source  of 
inspiration."1 

The  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  France  accepted  this 
loyalty  in  the  same  spirit  with  which  it  was  offered, 
and  there  was  a  greater  demand  for  the  Oratorian 
Fathers  on  behalf  of  every  kind  of  Church  work  than 
their  numbers,  though  so  considerable,  could  supply. 
Missions,  schools,  and  above  all  training  the  Clergy 
themselves  to  a  higher  tone  and  practice,  were  Pere 
de  Condren's  chief  objects.  Some  few  of  his  letters 
to  the  Fathers  remain,  which  all  set  forth  the  same 
calm,  trustful,  unselfish  spirit,  which  he  pressed  so 
earnestly  on  others.  Thus,  to  the  Superior  of  a  pro- 
vincial house,  he  writes, — 

"  Do  not  be  disturbed  because  of  some  little  diffi- 
*  Pfcre  Amelote,  ii.  p.  294. 


THE  OR  A  TORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  191 

culties  with  the  members  of  your  Community  as  re- 
gards yourself.  Think  rather  that  it  is  much  to  be 
wished  that  men  should  only  be  wanting  towards  us. 
If  they  find  it  hard  to  submit  to  God,  and  do  not 
accept  His  Guidance  without  murmuring,  how  can 
we  hope  to  make  our  rule  more  acceptable  than  His  ? 
It  is  a  mistake  to  foster  such  a  delusion.  Nevertheless 
be  assured  that  we  are  not  indifferent  to  your  diffi- 
culties, and  we  will  do  whatever  lies  in  our  power  to 
make  your  charge  bearable,  but  the  existing  state  of 
the  Congregation  renders  it  impossible  to  satisfy  you 
as  fully  as  we  should  desire.  The  Church  was  in  a 
far  more  harassed  condition  when  the  Son  of  God 
left  it  to  His  Apostles,  but  at  the  same  time  He  left 
them  His  Spirit  and  a  great  love  of  the  Cross.  If 
our  vocation  .met  with  no  trials,  no  cross,  no  need  for 
patience,  we  might  well  mistrust  it,  and  fear  lest  we 
had  no  part  in  Jesus  Christ  Crucified. 

"  The  Apostle  says  that  we  are  called  to  be  partakers 
of  the  Sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  nevertheless,  if 
we  duly  weigh  our  little  griefs,  we  shall  often  find 
them  to  be  rather  the  result  of  our  own  imperfections 
than  a  share  in  the  Cross  of  the  Son  of  God ;  we  shall 
realise  too  that  they  are  so  trivial  that  we  may  well 
be  ashamed  to  call  them  crosses.  My  dear  Father, 
we  must  imitate  God  and  His  Son,  and  rule  lovingly 
mose  who  resist  government,  not  failing  to  take  care 


PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


of  those  who  will  not  take  care  of  themselves  —  I 
mean  of  their  own  souls.  I  pray  you  go  on  tending 
God's  House  in  this  spirit,  and  watch  over  souls.  May 
He  bless  you.  Give  me  a  place  in  your  prayers."1 

What  a  gentle  wise  mind  the  following  letter  to  a 
Father,  who  was  unwilling  to  take  the  responsibility 
of  a  Community,  shews  :  — 

"We  had  thought  to  give  you  as  Superior  one 
whom  our  Good  Master  has  just  taken  from  us  ;  and 
now  we  are  asking  Him  to  supply  another  after  His 
own  Heart.  He  can  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham 
of  the  stones,  which  is  what  we  cannot  do  of  our- 
selves ;  —  and  so  not  having  any  Father  to  dispose  ot 
who  is  altogether  fit  for  this  office,  we  pray  to  Him, 
Who  fits  and  moulds  those  whom  He  vouchsafes  to 
use.  To  seek  no  further,  He  could  make  a  good 
Superior  of  you  yourself  if  He  willed  it,  but  He 
seems  pleased  rather  to  grant  your  prayers  to  the 
contrary  than  mine  to  that  effect  For  my  own  part, 
I  give  way  to  the  wish  with  which  He  inspires  you, 
and  will  not  attempt  to  do  it  violence.  Nevertheless, 
until  such  time  as  we  can  find  him  who  is  designed 
of  God  to  be  the  Head  of  your  House,  I  pray  you  to 
take  charge  of  it  —  you  may  rely  that  it  shall  not  be 
for  long. 

•'  Tell  those  members  of  your  House  who  want 
1  Lettres,  No.  xxxviiL 


THE  OR  A  TORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  193 

more  retirement,  that  we  must  not  look  upon  the 
Congregation  as  a  place  of  mere  selfish  retreat,  where 
each  man  may  seek  his  own  personal  satisfaction,  but 
rather  as  a  place  for  devotion,  holiness,  and  work  for 
Jesus  Christ,  in  all  of  which  we  are  bound  to  follow 
Him  bearing  His  Cross  : — the  first  rule  of  our  Family 
is  to  be  found  in  the  words  *  Deny  thyself,  take  up 
thy  Cross,  and  follow  me,'  and  whosoever  seeks  any- 
thing else,  is  mistaken."1 

Again,  to  a  Father  who  was  suffering  from  ill- 
health  and  consequent  depression,  Pere  de  Condren 
writes : — 

"...  I  see  from  your  letter  that  your  ailments  are 
severe,  and  do  not  allow  of  your  doing  as  much  as 
another  might  be  able  to  do ;  but  they  will  never  be 
greater  than  the  indulgence  of  the  Congregation.  It 
will  help  you  to  bear  with  yourself — we  shall  duly 
prize  your  patience  and  goodness.  I  have  always 
thought  that  those  suffering  members  who  edify  the 
Congregation  by  their  holiness,  and  who  bear  their 
trials  patiently  according  to  their  Rules  and  the  devout 
spirit  which  is  therein  inculcated,  are  more  useful  and 
ought  to  be  dearer  to  us  than  those  who  preach, 
teach,  or  otherwise  serve,  without  a  like  dutiful  heed 
to  their  Rule,  and  that  because  the  great  treasure  of 
the  Congregation  lies  in  the  grace,  the  piety,  the 

'Lettres,  No.  xl. 

N 


194  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

modesty  of  her  members,  wherein  truly  they  attain  to 
the  Mind  of  Christ.  The  most  useful  among  us  are 
those  who  help  to  preserve  this  treasure,  while  those 
who  do  otherwise  are  more  hurtful  than  helpful,  what- 
ever outside  show  they  may  make  to  the  contrary. 

"If  you  can  make  up  your  mind  to  work  in  this 
spirit  for  the  Congregation,  your  maladies  will  be 
profitable  both  to  you  and  to  us,  and  we  will  give 
special  orders  that  all  possible  help  be  given  you.  I 
will  make  it  my  personal  business  to  do  so,  and  I  feel 
sure  that  our  Fathers  will  not  fail  to  answer  to  the 
appeal.  But  if  you  find  it  too  hard  to  do  this,  as  your 
letter  seems  to  imply,  we  will  still  do  our  very  best 
for  you  with  the  most  affectionate  solicitude,  in  what- 
soever position  you  may  assume  in  the  Congregation, 
or  even  out  of  it.  Meanwhile  we  will  pray  our  Dear 
Lord  to  guide  you  rightly.  If  you  can  make  up  your 
mind  to  patience  and  obedience,  it  will  be  far  the 
best  thing  for  you,  but  whatever  you  may  do,  I  shall 
be  always,  yours  heartily,  P.  DE  CONDREN."' 

A  contest  among  certain  members  of  the  Congre- 
gation for  priority  of  rank  called  forth  the  following 
words  of  moderate  but  firm  rebuke  : — 

"The  question  raised  among  the  three  persons 
mentioned  in  your  letter  proves  too  plainly  that  they 
1  Lettres,  No.  xli. 


THE  OK  A  TORY  AND  2TS  SYSTEM.  195 

have  as  yet  made  but  little  progress  in  the  school  of 
Jesus  Christ.  When  the  Disciples  were  guilty  of  dis- 
puting who  should  have  the  pre-eminence,  they  were 
still  untaught  in  the  lessons  of  His  Humility,  and  had 
not  fully  received  the  outpourings  of  His  Grace.  But 
we  who  are  so  ready  to  speak  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus, 
and  who  are  called  by  His  Grace  to  His  Church  to 
spread  abroad  the  sweet  odour  of  His  Humility 
among  men — we  are  utterly  without  excuse  if  we  foster 
any  such  unworthy  feelings  j  we  ought  to  blush  at  any 
symptom  thereof. 

"  When  our  Assemblies  appointed  the  due  place  of 
each  among  us,  it  was  not  with  a  view  to  any  personal 
exultation,  but  only  to  that  of  the  priesthood ;  neither 
was  it  with  a  view  to  pride  and  vanity,  which  we 
rather  seek  wholly  to  uproot :  but  the  object  was  to 
regulate  the  zealous  humility  which  would  lead  every 
one  to  seek  the  lowliest  place,  and  which  consequently 
might  result  in  confusion  and  disorder.  If  these  three 
men  who  are  at  issue,  were  striving  who  should 
humble  himself  most  for  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
His  Humiliation,  I  should  say,  in  the  spirit  of  our 
Assemblies,  that  nothing  save  the  priesthood  is  to  be 
considered  among  us.  For  save  this  dignity,  which 
our  Lord  wills  to  maintain  its  honour  and  holiness, 
no  gifts  but  are  to  be  possessed  in  humility ;  and  the 
most  holy  and  most  perfect  gifts  which  can  be  attained 


196  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

through  His  Grace  are  only  to  humble  us  and  keep 
us  prostrate  before  Him,  until  He  has  judged  them  at 
the  Last  Great  Day.  If  we  judge  them  ourselves,  or 
esteem  them  highly,  or  take  to  ourselves  the  glory 
thereof,  we  are  guilty  of  an  encroachment  upon  His 
Divine  Judgment,  which  He  will  not  overlook — we 
thereby  forestall  His  Sentence,  and  become  unworthy 
of  His  Favour,  for  which  we  ought  to  wait  and  hope 
humbly. 

"  In  accordance  with  this  principle,  which  is  binding 
on  all  Christians,  and  which  has  been  accepted  by 
our  Assembly,  I  can  only,  when  called  on  to  decide 
this  difference,  condemn  all  three  partakers  in  it,  as 
having  offended  against  the  mind  and  intention  of 
our  Congregation,  which  requires  humility,  not  pride 
in  her  members.  You  say  that  I  have  certain  powers 
to  order  matters  of  this  kind,  but  my  power  is  only 
intended  to  be  used  '  to  edification,  not  to  destruc- 
tion* (2  Cor.  xiii.  io)j  as  indeed  every  power  com- 
mitted to  us  by  God  is  for  the  advancement  of  grace, 
not  of  self-will  I  am  bound  to  use  it  to  the  uproot- 
ing, not  the  encouragement,  of  pride  in  His  children. 
If  any  of  our  members  seek  to  take  the  lowest  place 
at  the  Gospel  Feast, — we  may  fairly  say  to  him  in 
Christ's  own  words,  '  Friend,  come  up  higher,'  if  it 
seems  expedient  so  to  do,  but  it  is  otherwise  with 
those  who  affect  the  pre-eminence.  To  such  it  were 


THE  OR  A  TOR  Y  AND  ITS  S  YSTEM.          1 9  7 

more  fitly  said  *  Give  place,  and  take  the  lowest 
room,'  since  they  are  so  entirely  wanting  hi  the 
mind  and  disposition  of  our  Society.  All  such  we 
would  send  to  learn  of  S.  Paul  what  was  '  the  Mind 
which  was  in  Christ  Jesus,  Who,  being  in  the  Form  of 
God,  made  Himself  of  no  reputation,'  and  '  thought 
it  no  robbery,'  no  indignity  to  His  Godhead,  to  bear 
with,  nay  to  seek  out,  all  the  humiliations  of  human 
life. 

"  If  we  are  kindled  by  the  same  spirit  we  shall  in  due 
time  be  exalted  with  Him,  but  if  not  we  have  little 
right  to  claim  an  abundant  share  in  His  Glory.  I 
beg  those  three  persons  who  have  had  thoughts  so 
opposed  to  the  Christian,  still  more  to  the  priestly 
mind,  to  repent  heartily,  and  to  spend  a  week  in 
special  devotion  to  the  Humiliations  of  Jesus  Christ, 
so  that  He  may  grant  them  a  better  mind.  I  would 
have  them  consider  well  that  they  are  Christians  and 
Priests,  and  that  they  ought  to  esteem  these  more 
highly  than  any  other  rank."  l 

To  a  Missionary  the  Superior  writes  the  following 
brief  words  of  encouragement : — 

"  I  thank  our  Dear  Saviour  with  all  my  soul  for 

the  blessing  He  is  giving  to  your  preaching  in  your 

mission.     We  are  far  from  worthy  of  such  grace,  but 

we  can  adore  and  admire  His  Grandeur  and  Power, 

1  Lettres,  No.  xliiL 


198  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Which  deign  to  carry  out  His  Work  by  means  of  us 
unworthy  sinners.  The  workman's  glory  is  to  succeed 
with  frail  tools.  God's  Word  is  holy  even  in  a  sinner's 
mouth,  and  it  retains  its  efficacy  therein ;  but  it  will 
produce  still  greater  results  when  those  who  bear  it 
to  others  lose  all  sight  of  themselves,  and  speak 
solely  in  Him  and  in  His  Holy  Spirit.  Let  this  be 
your  aim.  Woe  to  that  Gospel  preacher  who  seeks 
to  be  heard  for  his  own  sake  !  The  crown  and  glory 
of  Gospel  truth  is  only  for  such  as  seek  that  Christ 
be  listened  to  in  their  words,  and  who  lose  themselves 
in  their  message,  like  the  ministering  Angels,  or  the 
holy  Apostles,  who  rejoiced  to  be  despised  of  men, 
so  long  as  they  might  see  God  Only,  and  that  He  was 
filling  their  hearts  and  minds." x 

To  a  Priest  of  the  Oratory  who  had  yielded  to  the 
infirmities  of  temper,  the  Superior  says  : — 

"  I  entreat  you  to  live  the  most  edifying  life  that 
you  can  in  the  House  where  you  are.  I  am  very 
sorry  for  what  has  happened; — you  owe  our  Dear 
Lord  much  greater  patience  than  this.  Remember 
that  you  are  a  child  of  the  Cross,  and  that  were  you 
even  crucified,  you  ought  to  abide  in  silence  and 
patience.  I  quite  believe  that  you  may  have  had 
reasons  for  what  you  did,  but  I  cannot  think  that  they 
were  in  accordance  with  Christ  Crucified.  I  have 
'  Lettres,  No.  xlv. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  199 

not  yet  been  fully  informed  as  to  what  took  place ; 
but  knowing  you  better  than  the  others,  I  feel  con- 
strained to  speak  to  you  and  entreat  you  to  take  up 
the  Cross,  and  learn  its  patience.  Our  greatest  gain 
in  this  world  is  to  suffer ;  and  our  greatest  loss  is  to 
cause  suffering  to  others  : — the  first  is  the  lot  of  God's 
children,  and  the  last  of  the  devil's  children.  May 
God  shield  both  you  and  me  from  having  any  part 
in  so  terrible  a  lot.  Be  assured  that  all  my  life  I 
shall  be  yours,"1  &c. 

Perhaps,  in  our  busy  days  of  perpetual  over-work 
and  over-strain,  Pere  de  Condren's  words  to  one  of 
his  Mission  Fathers,  whose  zeal  abounded,  may  find 
their  aim  among  ourselves : — 

"...  I  thank  our  Dear  Lord,"  he  says,  "  with  all 
my  heart,  for  the  success  He  has  given  you  in  your 
Mission  ; — it  is  a  proof  that  He  accepts  your  service 
in  that  kind  of  work.  But  nevertheless,  my  dear 
Father,  do  not  forget  that  if  our  visiting  and  our  outer 
work  is  to  be  really  Christian  it  must  not  be  con- 
tinued. The  Son  of  God  frequently  went  apart  Alone 
with  His  Father,  one  while  amid  the  mountains, 
another  time  in  the  desert,  and  yet  He  had  not  the 
same  need  that  we  have  to  renew  His  inner  life  in 
the  Spirit  of  God,  or  to  repair  the  waste  made  by 
time  and  exterior  work — a  reparation  essential  to  him 
1  Lettres,  No.  xlvii. 


200  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

who  would  talk  with  God  and  live  under  His  Guid- 
ance; He  intended  thereby  to  teach  us  what  we 
ought  to  do;  He  is  not  only  the  Founder  of  all 
Evangelical  Mission  work,  He  is  also  the  Rule  and 
perfection  of  all  its  detail. 

"  He  said,  *  As  the  Father  sendeth  Me,  even  so 
send  I  you.'  That  charity  which  He  left  to  us, 
and  which  ought  to  be  the  very  life  of  all  true  Mis- 
sions, has  reference  first  of  all  to  God  rather  than  to 
the  people,  and  passes  on  to  them  by  means  of  the 
love  we  win  from  Him.  And  therefore,  from  time  to 
time,  we  need  to  give  ourselves  up  to  Him  Alone,  He 
being  our  God,  and  requiring  that  our  love  be  fixed 
on  Him  before  and  above  all  else ;  remembering  that 
our  chief  homage  is  due  to  Him,  that  He  is  the 
Beginning  and  the  End  of  all  our  spiritual  work; 
that  we  must  gather  from  Him  that  which  we  are 
going  to  give  out  again  for  His  Glory ;  that  we  must 
return  it  to  Him  when  the  object  is  attained.  It  was 
thus  that  Jesus  Christ  ever  did  with  respect  to  the 
Father.  He  never  did  anything  on  earth  *  but  what 
He  saw  the  Father  do'  (John  v.  19).  He  lived  and 
acted  in  Him  Only,  referring  all  to  Him,  finally 
giving  Himself  up  for  the  Kingdom  and  Glory  of  His 
Father.  Such  is  our  example,  and  so,  dear  Father,  I 
would  have  you  make  it  your  rule,  after  having  been 
at  work,  to  reserve  a  suitable  time  for  retreat  and  rest 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  201 

with  God; — for  He  ought  to  be  our  Rest  in  this 
world  as  well  as  in  the  next  From  the  very  creation 
He  willed  that  man's  rest  should  be  consecrated  to 
Himself,  and  He  still  wills  it  so."1 

Pere  de  Condren's  letters  to  his  Fathers  engaged  in 
Missions  are  full  of  minute  details,  which  shew  that 
nothing  escaped  his  watchful  vigilance:  the  trifling 
oppositions,  the  storms  raised,  "  not  fierce  enough  to 
be  attributed  to  the  Evil  One  ;"a  the  coldness  of  those 
who  ought  to  be  fervent  in  God's  work;  the  petty 
jealousies  of  others;  the  various  individual  prejudices 
which  must  inevitably  come  in  the  way  of  all  such 
efforts  for  dealing  with  souls;  the  occasional  failure 
even  of  a  missionary  himself,  find  their  respective 
notice.  Careful  arrangements  as  to  the  places  where 
Missions  should  be  held,  watchirig  for  the  openings 
God  may  give,  cautions  to  the  Mission  Fathers  to 
carry  on  their  own  work  "without  entering  into 
any  party  feelings;  .  .  .  following  S.  Paul's  teach- 
ing, '  that  there  be  no  divisions  among  you,  but  that 
ye  be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind  and 
in  the  same  judgment'  (i  Cor.  i.  10);  shunning  all 
that  tends  to  a  breach  of  Christian  love  and  sim- 
plicity;" warnings  to  keep  the  Lord's  Example  ever 
before  them,  and  so  work  on  at  their  Father's  business 
"  with  few  words,  and  giving  little  heed  to  the  contra- 
1  Lettres,  No.  xlix.  a  Ibid.  No.  liv. 


202  PKIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

dictions  of  men ;"  such  are  the  chief  substance  of  the 
General's  correspondence.  He  specially  charges  his 
Fathers  to  be  very  careful  how  they  proceed  in  fresh 
places,  where  hitherto  their  work  has  not  been 
known.  "  New  things  are  ever  apt  to  give  offence. 
Confidence  only  comes  with  knowledge  and  habit, 
and  if  you  go  too  fast  you  will  only  bring  down 
opposition  upon  your  work.  In  a  year's  time  you 
will  meet  with  general  commendation  for  the  very 
things  which  at  this  moment  would  raise  a  perfect 
storm,  if  suggested.  You  see  God  wills  that  His 
Work  should  spread  and  wax  strong  in  secret,  in 
humility,  ignored  or  misunderstood  of  men." 

He  was  never  weary  of  pressing  upon  those  under 
him  the  importance  of  working  without  any  view  to 
an  earthly  reward,  whether  such  comes  through  the 
applause  of  men,  or  even  that  of  conscious  satisfaction 
in  the  success  of  work  well  done. 

"This  family  of  the  Son  of  God  [the  Oratory] 
needs  good  and  faithful  servants,  who  will  ever  bear 
in  mind  that  their  Head  was  Crucified  because  of 
His  good  works,  and  that  while  serving  Him  they 
must  seek  to  offer  themselves  with  Him  a  sacrifice  to 
His  Father ;  they  must  immolate  themselves  in  His 
Spirit  of  patience  on  the  altar  of  human  contradiction 
and  persecution,  doing  what  is  right  without  expect- 
ing any  satisfaction  or  gratitude  from  men.  Real 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.          203 

Christian  work  is  too  God-like  to  have  its  reward  in 
this  world,  and  those  men  who  do  not  renounce  self 
even  in  this  respect  have  not  attained  to  the  true 
Spirit  of  God.  If  we  were  holier  we  should  encounter 
still  more  opposition  from  the  world,  and  if  we  lived 
according  to  the  perfect  holiness  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
men  of  our  times  would  no  more  tolerate  us  than  they 
tolerated  Him — there  would  be  nothing  about  us  that 
would  in  any  way  meet  and  satisfy  the  views  and  spirit 
of  the  world.  .  .  . 

"For  my  own  part,  I  must  needs  humble  myself 
because  I  have  hitherto  had  to  suffer  so  little ;  in 
very  truth  I  believe  that  had  I  been  better,  men 
would  have  looked  less  favourably  on  me.  .  .  . 
Just  now  you  are  happier  than  I  have  been  in  this 
respect ;  I  thank  God  on  your  behalf,  and  above  all 
for  that  He  gives  you  grace  to  profit  by  it. 

"  The  wicked  thief  was  lost  though  his  cross  was 
so  close  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  unless  we  cleave  closely 
to  Him,  unless  we  are  upheld  by  Grace  and  enabled 
to  offer  ourselves  together  with  Him,  the  Cross  will 
not  save  us — rather  we  shall  deserve  punishment 
because  we  have  not  used  it  rightly.  Contradiction 
and  affliction  are  common  enough  in  this  world,  but 
a  full  and  right  use  of  them  is  more  rare  than  one 
might  be  disposed  to  imagine;  to  receive  and  use 
them  in  a  loving  Christian  spirit  and  in  the  Patience 


204  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

of  Christ  is  altogether  a  gift  of  grace,  which  we  may 
well  crave  earnestly,  although  it  is  for  the  most  part 
little  esteemed  of  men Let  us  offer  our- 
selves to  Him  in  all  the  trifling  contradictions  we  are 
called  on  to  bear;  let  us  see  them  with  loving  eyes, 
as  a  cup  of  blessing  which  our  Father  offers  us  to 
drink  for  His  good  pleasure.  And  if  the  flesh 
murmur,  let  us  say  with  the  Son  of  God,  *  Get  thee 
behind  me,  Satan ;  the  cup  which  my  Father  hath 
given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ? '  A  common  fault, 
but  a  very  serious  one  among  Christians,  is  that 
they  reject  the  reality  of  that  Cross  which  they  are 
so  ready  to  adore  in  painting  and  sculpture.  But  if 
we  only  love  the  Image,  our  love,  be  sure,  is  only 
imaginary  too. 

"  If  we  are  weak  in  our  undertaking,  Jesus  Christ 
vouchsafes  to  be  the  Angel  strengthening  us.  Wor- 
ship the  fulness  of  His  love  with  all  your  might,  and 
give  yourself  up  wholly  to  the  guidance  of  His  Spirit. 
Herein,  indeed,  you  are  better  off  than  He  was,  for 
whereas  only  an  Angel  was  sent  to  comfort  Him,  He 
wills  Himself  to  be  your  Strength.  Gather  yourself 
together  then,  and  strive  to  prize  the  Cross  aright,  and 
then  resolve  fervently  to  bear  it  with  Him  in  whatso- 
ever shape  He  may  offer  it  to  you.  Seek  to  attain 
a  resolute  will  to  bear  it  in  well-doing,  although  all 
your  good  works  seem  downed  with  thorns.  Ik- 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  205 

content  that  God  should  reserve  all  their  satisfaction, 
all  their  reward,  all  their  glory,  for  Paradise ;  leave 
Him  to  hide  them  beneath  the  shadow  of  His  Holy 
Spirit  as  long  as  He  will,  so  long  as  you  bear  all 
things  in  the  strength  of  the  Saviour's  Love  even 
towards  those  who  cause  you  most  suffering ;  so  long 
as  you  offer  yourself  to  Him  for  their  sake."1 

In  the  same  spirit  of  self-abnegation  which  enabled 
Pere  de  Condren  almost  to  rejoice  in  calumny,  he 
answers  a  friend  who  had  written  in  great  indigna- 
tion at  the  false  reports  spread  concerning  him  and 
his  work  : — 

"  You  dwell  too  much  upon  what  is  said  concern- 
ing your  friends.  We  have  much  more  need  to 
be  troubled  at  the  offences  which  are  continually 
committed  against  God,  than  at  anything  which 
can  be  said  or  done  with  respect  to  ourselves ;  and 
when  we  are  so  sensitive  to  these,  it  is  a  sign  that  our 
love  for  Him  is  cold,  and  that  we  cling  too  closely 
to  self  and  the  things  which  so  disturb  us.  We 
must  strive  to  purify  our  hearts  before  God,  and  to 
transform  every  thought  into  love  for  Him,  while  we 
marvel  that  He  suffers  so  many  even  to  blaspheme  Him, 
and  that  so  many  even  among  professing  Christians 
murmur  against  His  rule.  Surely,  if  we  dwell  on  this 
thought,  we  shall  worship  His  Patience,  and  the 
1  Lettres,  No.  bdv. 


206  PR  IE  STL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

wondrous  way  in  which  He  overlooks  man's  com- 
plaints, continuing  to  pour  out  His  Love  upon 
him.  It  were  well  if  we  strove  rather  to  rest  in  His 
Divine  Government,  and  so  not  to  fret  so  much,  or 
to  set  our  hearts  on  converting  those  to  us  whom  He 
does  not  convert  to  us,  perhaps  not  even  to  Himself. 
We  have  much  more  real  reason  to  fear  lest  we  be 
too  well  off  in  this  world ;  too  much  respected,  too 
much  praised.  Hitherto  we  have  not  had  any  great 
share  of  our  Lord's  Cross  to  carry — perhaps  we  may 
be  more  favoured  in  future.  We  ought  to  count  any 
prospect  thereof  as  a  great  grace,  and  if  we  really 
believe  the  Gospel,  we  shall  look  upon  persecution  as 
one  of  the  beatitudes.  .  .  . 

"  When  we  have  altogether  rooted  blasphemy  from 
out  the  world,  and  restrained  all  men  from  speaking 
evil  of  God  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ; — when  we 
have  brought  the  whole  world  to  fulfil  their  duty 
towards  His  Divine  Majesty, — then  there  may  be 
nothing  left  to  do,  but  to  restrain  men  from  sinning 
against  ourselves,  and  perhaps  it  will  be  time  then  to 
see  about  it.  But  meanwhile  such  efforts  would  be 
mistimed; — our  whole  care  must  be  given  now  to 
prevent  offences  against  God,  and  let  us  rejoice  if 
men's  malice  be  levelled  rather  at  us  than  at  God. 
One  result  thereof  should  be  to  make  us  look  within 
and  be  more  filled  with  humility,  since  how  shall 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.  207 


we  presume  to  resent  persecution,  knowing  as  we  do 
that  if  we  are  not  guilty  of  that  which  is  imputed  to 
us,  at  all  events  we  have  committed  many  other 
faults?  Jesus  Christ  Alone  had  a  full  and  perfect 
right  to  justify  Himself;  and  we  must  strive  by  peni- 
tence, by  humility,  by  love,  to  purify  our  hearts  of 
self-love,  and  to  win  as  large  a  share  as  may  be  in 
the  Innocence  of  Christ  Crucified,  rejoicing  through 
love  of  His  Cross  to  be  persecuted,  not  blamelessly  in- 
deed, like  Him,  but  according  to  our  strength.  Better 
so,  than  not  at  all.  Let  us  spend  this  life  in  patience 
and  humility,  seeking  only  to  love  and  serve  God."1 

One  more  letter  must  be  quoted  here,  in  which, 
writing  to  an  Oratorian,  Pere  de  Condren  dwells  upon 
the  "  liberty  of  the  children  of  God,"  in  words  which 
seem  to  be  a  summary  of  his  own  inner  life  : — 

"  First  of  all,"  he  says,  "  I  want  to  warn  you,  if 
need  be  to  entreat  you,  to  remember  that  it  is  your 
duty  really  and  effectively  to  take  care  of  your  health ; 
not  merely  to  think  or  speak  of  doing  so.  ...  Be 
resigned  to  God  in  all  things,  and  thus  your  soul  will 
find  rest.  Shun  all  anxiety  of  mind,  and  all  constraint 
in  spiritual  things.  Just  as  we  ought  to  seek  to  sub- 
ject the  flesh  to  the  spirit,  i.e.  all  that  is  not  born  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  (for  '  that  which  is  born  of  the  flesh 
is  flesh,  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit') 
1  Lettres,  No.  Ixix. 


208  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

(John  iii.  6),  even  so  ought  we  to  seek  that  liberty  of 
soul  which  S.  Paul  calls  *  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God'  (Rom.  viii.  21).  His  children,  so 
the  Apostle  teaches  us,  are  not  subject  to  the  things 
of  this  world  either  through  l  love '  or  fear — but  willing 
only  with  their  whole  heart  to  do  Him  honour, 
whether  by  doing  or  suffering,  their  minds  are  always 
in  perfect  freedom  towards  Him  and  superior  to  every 
obstacle.  They  know  how  to  turn  their  very  hin- 
drances into  means  of  better  serving  and  glorifying 
God ; — accepting  all  such  freely,  and  turning  them  to 
account  by  offering  them  up  to  Him.  They  know 
that  the  one  thing  most  acceptable  to  God  is  the 
sacrifice  of  the  will: — so  they  resign  themselves 
wholly  to  Him,  and  are  as  ready  to  serve  Him  after 
one  way  as  another.  Then-  real  desire  is  to  leave  all 
choice  to  God,  accepting  His  choice  with  an  absolute 
and  loving  submission;  as  ready  to  receive  those 
hindrances  which  His  Supreme  Will  permits  as  to 
work  unhindered  when  He  wills  it,  for  what  they 
believe  to  be  His  greater  Glory.  After  all,  His  real 
Glory  is,  that  we  obey  Him  out  of  love.  Oh !  be  sure 
that  it  is  a  great  secret  of  Christian  life  to  be  wholly 
God's  without  clinging  to  any  earthly  thing,  without 
choosing  any  way  of  our  own  for  serving  Him,  but 
abiding  in  simple  readiness  always  to  use  every  cir- 
cumstance and  event  which  His  Providence  may  send 


FHE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.         209 

to  His  Glory.  To  do  this  the  will  must  be  resolutely 
set  towards  Him,  and  we  must  be  fully  persuaded  that 
nothing  can  happen  to  us  which  is  not  destined  to 
help  us  onward,  if  we  cleave  wholly  to  His  Guiding 
Hand ;  nothing  but  what  may  be  a  means  of  honour- 
ing Him,  in  act,  if  it  be  something  to  do ; — in  suffer- 
ing, if  it  be  something  to  be  borne  j — in  severance,  if 
it  be  something  to  be  given  up ; — in  prosecuting,  if 
it  be  something  to  be  persevered  in,  as  some  holy 
thought  or  grace.  May  our  Lord  mould  all  our 
hearts  to  this,  and  may  we  let  Him  mould  us  as  He 
will."' 

Three  years  of  experience  served,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, to  confirm  the  Congregation  in  the  wisdom  of 
the  selection  they  had  made  of  a  Superior ;  but  when 
another  Assembly  was  held  in  1634,  they  were  thrown 
into  great  dismay  at  the  prospect  of  losing  him. 
Without  making  any  allusion  to  his  intentions,  Pere 
de  Condren  carried  on  the  work  of  the  Assembly  till 
the  last  day  of  its  session,  when,  without  telling  any 
one  whatsoever  where  he  was  going,  he  borrowed  a 
friend's  horses  and  took  a  roundabout  road  to  a  very 
quiet  house  belonging  to  the  Congregation,  and  con- 
cealed himself  there,  as  he  hoped  effectually,  until 
another  Superior  should  be  elected. 

The  Assembly,  finding  that  their  President  did  not 
1  Lettres,  No.  Ixix. 
O 


2 1  o  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

appear,  voted  the  Bishop  of  Saint  Malo,  who  was 
present  as  Honorary  Assessor,  to  the  chair;  and  just 
as  this  was  done,  the  secretary  presented  a  letter 
directed  in  Pere  de  Condren's  handwriting  to  the 
Assembly.  The  first  step  the  Assembly  took  was 
to  decide  by  acclamation  that  this  letter  should  not 
be  opened,  foreseeing,  as  every  one  did,  its  pur- 
port. 

The  letter  was  in  fact  a  touchingly  humble  entreaty 
to  be  relieved  of  his  office  as  General ;  "  not,"  as  he 
said,  "  to  avoid  the  trouble,  which  is  not  great ; — not 
that  I  do  not  love  the  Congregation,  or  that  I  have 
any  complaint  to  make  against  any  one — far  from  it, 
I  ask  pardon  of  all  who  have  any  complaint  against 
me  ;  nor  that  I  am  wanting  in  submission  to  your  will 
—I  would  fain  live  in  obedience  all  my  life.  But  you 
know  that  he  who  in  his  innermost  conscience  feels 
himself  unworthy  and  incapable  of  an  ecclesiastical 
office  ought  not  to  yield  when  elected.  And  my  only 
reason  for  departing  is  to  give  you  time  to  decide  on 
another  Superior.  I  am  going  to  one  of  our  houses 
(I  dare  not  say  which),  till  such  time  as  you  shall  have 
given  to  the  Congregation  and  to  me  a  Superior- 
General.  Then  I  shall  hasten  to  ask  his  blessing, 
and  tender  my  obedience."1  At  the  same  time 
de  Condren  wrote  privately  to  one  of  the  Fathers, 

'  Lett  res,  No.  xxxiii. 


THE  ORATORY  AND  ITS  SYSTEM.          211 

entreating  his  co-operation,  and  reiterating  his  convic- 
tion that  it  was  for  the  good  of  the  Congregation  that 
he  should  retire. 

The  Assembly  wrote  an  answer  to  the  letter  they 
had  not  read,  purporting  that  let  Pere  de  Condren  go 
where  he  would,  their  General  he  should  be  so  long 
as  he  lived;  and  having  signed  this  document  unani- 
mously, the  Fathers  separated.  Three  days  were 
spent  in  seeking  the  fugitive,  but  at  last  he  was  found, 
and  then  his  very  humility  prevented  any  further 
contest.  De  Condren  read  the  Assembly's  docu- 
ment, and  observing  that  it  was  in  real  love  to  the 
Congregation  he  had  wished  to  give  it  a  better  Head, 
he  returned  to  Paris  with  his  captors,  and  meekly 
resumed  his  office,  though  to  the  last  he  maintained 
that  he  was  incapable  and  unworthy  of  it  Once 
more  de  Condren  attempted  to  retire  from  office. 
This  was  when  the  Assembly  of  1638  was  held.  But 
his  design  was  frustrated  on  all  sides.  Hoping  to 
gain  help  from  Cardinal  Richelieu,  he  appealed  to 
him  for  support,  and  was  thrust  back  with  the  assur- 
ance, that  if  he  resigned  his  present  office  he  should 
immediately  be  appointed  to  an  Archbishopric !  while 
his  confessor,  after  hearing  a  general  confession  made 
with  a  view  to  his  retirement,  positively  assured 
him  that  he  would  be  acting  against  God's  Will  if  he 
persisted,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  threaten  to 


212  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FKANCE. 

refuse  absolution  unless  de    Condren  gave  up  his 
intention. 

The  remainder,  therefore,  of  his  life — until  January 
7,  1641 — Charles  de  Condren  spent  at  the  Head  of 
his  Congregation. 


VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    213 


CHAPTER  V. 

S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARIST3. 

THE  Oratory  had  set  a  great  stone  rolling,  and 
although,  in  the  order  of  God's  Providence,  it 
came  to  pass  that  after  a  comparatively  short  time  the 
great  work  of  training  and  spiritualising  the  Clergy  in 
France  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Oratorian 
Fathers,  the  work  begun  by  Cardinal  de  Be'rulle  was 
carried  on  in  two  great  branches,  both  of  which  sprang 
from  the  parent  vine  of  the  Oratory.  One  man  sows, 
and  another  reaps  the  increase ; — so  it  ever  has  been, 
so  probably  it  ever  will  be,  in  God's  natural  as  well 
as  His  spiritual  Kingdom,  and  who  among  His  chosen 
servants  but  would  ever  be  ready  to  cry  out  with 
David,  "  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto 
Thy  Name  give  the  Glory !"  or  with  S.  John  Baptist, 
"  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  decrease  "  ?  And  if, 
as  we  humbly  venture  to  hope  and  believe,  the  life  of 
Paradise  will  see  a  great  ingathering  of  those  who 
have  loved  and  toiled  together  for  Christ  here,  no  fear 
lest  there  should  be  any  rivalry,  any  grudging  as  to 


214  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

who  has  done  the  work,  so  long  as  He,  the  Dear 
Lord,  the  precious  Master  and  Saviour  of  East  and 
West,  of  Oratorian  and  Lazarist,  of  Philip  Neri,  Pierre 
de  Be'rulle,  Vincent  de  Paul,  Jean  Jacques  Olier, 
ay,  and  of  many  another  saintly  soul  whose  name 
may  be  scarce  remembered,  or  even  forgotten  alto- 
gether of  men — so  long  as  He  and  His  Holy  Name 
are  glorified. 

Probably  among  the  numbers  who  are  familiar  with 
the  name  of  S.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and  who  justly  look 
upon  him  as  the  great  Apostle  of  his  day,  few  know 
how  close  his  connexion  with  the  Oratory  and  de 
Be'rulle  was. 

The  two  men  were  born  within  a  year  of  one 
another,  de  Be'rulle,  as  has  been  already  said,  February 
4,  1575,  and  Vincent  de  Paul,  April  24,  1576.  There 
was  little  resemblance  in  their  early  history.  S.  Vin- 
cent was  the  son  of  peasant  parents  inhabiting  the 
hamlet  of  Rauquines,  near  Dax,  on  the  edge  of  the 
Landes.  His  childhood  was  spent,  David-like,  keep- 
ing the  sheep,  and  the  oak  tree  whose  hollow  trunk 
was  his  oratory  and  shelter,  has  for  many  years  been  an 
object  of  reverent  interest  to  Western  Christendom. 
His  first  simple  education  was  given  by  the  Cordeliers 
of  Dax,  and  while  teaching  others  in  order  to  supply 
funds  for  his  own  maintenance,  he  continued  to 
study  at  Toulouse,  where  he  took  his  degree,  being 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    215 

ordained  priest,  September  23,  1600,  by  the  Bishop 
of  Pe'rigueux — the  See  of  Dax  being  at  that  period 
vacant.  The  tale  of  Vincent  de  Paul's  voyage  to 
Narbonne — during  which  the  vessel  he  was  in  was 
captured  by  a  Turkish  brigantine,  and  all  on  board 
carried  to  Tunis,  where  they  were  sold  as  slaves — is 
well  known.  From  his  personal  experience  of  the 
fearful  sufferings,  mental  and  bodily,  which  all  such 
Christian  captives  underwent,  sprang  one  of  S.  Vin- 
cent's great  works,  the  Mission  to  Barbary,  in  which 
he  toiled  unremittingly  for  the  relief  of  the  numerous 
slaves  of  every  nation  who  were  continually  cap- 
tured and  brought  into  the  markets  of  Tunis  and 
Algiers. 

Having  been  released,  Vincent  found  his  way  to 
Rome,  and  thence  he  was  sent  on  a  political  mission 
to  Paris,  where  he  had  various  conferences  with  the 
King,  Henri  IV.  It  was  this  visit  to  Paris  which  led 
to  his  first  acquaintance  with  Cardinal  de  BeVulle,  and 
its  important  consequences.  Vincent's  special  errand 
accomplished,  he  remained  in  Paris,  occupying  a 
lodging  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  close  to  the 
hospital  called  la  Charitd,  at  that  time  the  principal 
work  of  the  kind  in  Paris,  and  which  consequently 
drew  around  it  most  of  those  whose  minds  were  work- 
ing out  the  problem  how  best  to  relieve  Christ's  suffer- 
ing poor.  Here,  as  before  mentioned,  ministering 


216  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

both  to  the  souls  and  bodies  of  the  sick,  Vincent 
found  a  congenial  task,  and  it  was  here  that  he  and 
de  Be'rulle  came  across  one  another.  The  latter 
heard  various  rumours  concerning  a  humble  priest 
who  went  about  in  the  hospital  doing  the  work  of 
a  good  angel,  and  with  pious  curiosity  seeking  him 
out,  he  found  Vincent  de  Paul  A  close  friendship 
between  two  such  choice  souls  was  the  natural  result, 
and  when  suffering  under  a  prolonged  season  of 
spiritual  trial  and  temptation,  Vincent  sought  refuge 
in  the  Oratory,  and  laid  open  his  whole  heart  to  de 
Be'rulle.  His  past  life,  his  present  fears,  his  hopes 
and  aspirations  for  the  future,  were  all  submitted  to 
the  clear  guidance  of  the  Oratorian  Superior,  whose 
quick  perceptions  did  not  fail  to  perceive  that  God 
intended  great  things  to  be  done  by  this  holy  man, 
and  far  from  pressing  him  to  join  his  own  Congrega- 
tion, de  Be'rulle  told  Vincent  plainly  that  he  was 
destined  to  found  a  new  Congregation  of  his  own, 
which  should  work  with  a  similar  object,  though  after 
a  somewhat  different  plan. 

During  the  two  years  thus  spent  in  the  Orator}', 
Vincent  worked  out  in  his  own  "mind  more  and  more 
the  thought  which  travailed  in  him — of  the  fearful 
ignorance  and  neglected  spiritual  condition  of  the 
country  people  generally ;  and  the  desire  to  meet  it 
witli  some  special  remedy  grew  stronger  and  stronger 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    217 

in  his  heart.  It  has  been  already  said,  how  at  de 
Be'rulle's  request,  he  took  charge  of  the  parish  of 
Clichy,  when  Frangois  Bourgoing,  the  Curd  thereof, 
joined  the  Oratorians ;  and  it  was  again  in  compliance 
with  his  advice  that  Vincent  left  Clichy  at  the  end  of  a 
year  to  fill  the  post  of  tutor  in  the  noble  house  of  Gondi, 
descendants  of  the  celebrated  Due  de  Retz.  At 
this  time — 1613 — de  Gondi  was  Archbishop  of  Paris 
(as  indeed  three  of  the  family  were  in  succession); 
and  it  was  in  the  household  of  another  son  of  the 
soldier  of  Moncontour,  Philip  Emanuel — who  although 
a  courtier  and  a  warrior  was  also  a  deeply  religious 
man,  (ending  his  life  indeed  as  a  priest  of  the  Oratory) 
— that  Vincent  spent  the  next  twelve  years  of  his  life. 
Madame  de  Gondi — Marguerite  de  Silly — was  one  of 
those  "ftmmes  fortes"  which  that  brilliant  period  of 
French  society  produced,  and  husband  and  wife  agree- 
ing in  their  anxiety  to  train  up  their  children  as  good 
Christians,  they  applied  to  Cardinal  de  Be'rulle  for  a 
suitable  tutor  from  among  his  Oratorian  Fathers; 
but  he,  having  his  own  views  concerning  Vincent 
de  Paul,  sent  him  to  fill  the  post  It  seemed 
a  strange  way  of  promoting  that  work  among  the 
country  people,  towards  which  Vincent's  special 
attraction  lay,  and  he  marvelled  himself  at  the  call, 
only  complying  out  of  obedience  ;  but  "  it  was  God's 
doing"  (c'est  Dieu  qui  a  fait  cela),  he  used  to  say 


2i8  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

himself  in  after-life,  and  the  result  proved  that  de 
BeVulle's  judgment  was  good.  The  veneration  with 
which  Madame  de  Gondi  soon  learned  to  regard  Vin- 
cent, led  to  her  placing  herself  under  his  direction, 
again  at  de  Be'rulle's  desire — for  the  lowly  priest  held 
himself  unworthy  of  the  charge — and  he  found  in  her 
an  active  fellow-labourer  in  the  work  he  already  had 
begun  to  do  among  the  country  people  on  the  large 
estates  of  the  family.  S.  Vincent  used  to  say  that  the 
first  sermon  of  the  Mission  was  preached  on  a  certain 
Conversion  of  S.  Paul  at  Folleville,  in  consequence  of 
a  seemingly  trifling  event  which  occurred  there.  He 
was  summoned  one  day  to  hear  the  last  confession  of 
a  dying  man,  a  peasant,  well  to  do,  and  reckoned  as 
a  good  liver  among  his  neighbours ;  but  beneath  the 
decent  exterior  there  lay  a  festering  sin,  long  concealed 
through  false  shame.  Fulfilling  his  ministry  as  Vin- 
cent did,  after  no  mere  perfunctory  fashion,  he  soon 
saw  how  matters  stood,  and  led  the  penitent  to  make 
a  general  confession,  to  his  own  intense  relief  and 
thankfulness.  The  strong  expressions  of  gratitude 
used  by  this  man  to  Madame  de  Gondi,  and  his  con- 
viction that  but  for  Vincent's  wise  handling  his  soul 
would  have  been  lost,  while  to  the  world  without  he 
seemed  all  right,  had  so  strong  effect  upon  her,  that 
she  cried  out  in  despair  at  the  thought  of  the  many 
souls  whose  spiritual  state  must  be  even  worse  than 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    219 

his,  and  implored  Vincent  to  preach  in  the  parish 
church  on  the  subject  of  general  confessions,  and  how 
to  make  them,  which  he  did  with  most  encouraging 
results.  So  great  a  movement  and  awakening  followed 
among  the  people  round  about,  that  Vincent  was 
obliged  to  call  in  the  aid  of  two  Jesuit  Fathers  from 
Amiens  to  supply  their  needs.  Henceforth  the  Con- 
version of  S.  Paul  has  always  been  observed  among 
his  spiritual  children  as  practically  the  birthday  of  the 
Mission. 

It  would  take  up  too  much  space  here  to  dwell 
upon  S.  Vincent's  other  works  while  in  the  de  Gondi 
family.  He  attempted  once  to  leave  it  in  1619,  when 
he  undertook  the  parish  of  Chatillon  in  the  diocese  of 
Lyons,  again  at  Pere  de  Berulle's  suggestion  ;  but 
Madame  de  Gondi  succeeded  in  persuading  the  latter 
to  urge  his  return,  not  however  before  he  had  left 
his  stamp  on  this  new  sphere  of  labour,  in  the  first 
beginnings  of  the  Confreries  de  la  Charite — whence 
sprung  at  a  later  period  the  "  Societe*  de  Saint  Vincent 
de  Paul,"  which  has  done  so  great  a  work  in  Modern 
Europe,  and  with  which  the  name  of  Fre'deric  Ozanam 
is  so  closely  connected. 

Philip  Emanuel  de  Gondi  held  the  office  of 
General  of  the  Galleys,  and  Vincent  soon  learnt  by 
personal  experience  what  a  miserably  neglected  con- 
dition the  convicts  who  filled  them  were  in.  This  he 


220  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

represented  to  the  General  in  strong  language,  warn- 
ing him  that  he  would  have  to  give  account  to  God 
for  it,  and  thence  arose  the  work  generally  known  as 
the  "  (Euvre  des  Galeres."  Both  this  and  the  missions 
to  Barbary  and  Algiers,  with  their  martyr  heroes, 
Louis  Gue'rin,  the  le  Vachers,  Noueli,  Pierre  Borguny, 
and  Barreau,  can  only  be  alluded  to  here.  While  all 
other  openings  that  presented  themselves  for  promot- 
ing God's  service  were  eagerly  seized  on  by  Vincent 
de  Paul,  he  never  lost  sight  of  that  work  to  which  he 
believed  himself  to  be  specially  called,  i.e.  mission 
work  at  home.  The  Congregation  of  Missionaries,  of 
which  the  first  seed  was  sown,  as  before  said,  on  the 
Conversion  of  S.  Paul,  was  to  take  more  definite 
shape  while  Vincent  was  in  the  house  of  de  Gondi. 
Those  slender  beginnings  had  stimulated  Madame  de 
Condi's  pious  enthusiasm,  and  in  the  year  1617  she 
proposed  giving  16,000  livres  to  some  community  on 
condition  that  they  would  hold  missions  every  five 
years  on  the  estates  belonging  to  her  family,  and 
Vincent  tried  unsuccessfully  to  induce  either  the 
Jesuits  or  Oratorians  to  take  it  up.  For  seven  years 
this  went  on,  and  then  the  de  Gondis  asked  why 
Vincent  himself  should  not  found  the  work  they 
craved  for,  and  seconding  their  wishes,  their  brother 
the  Archbishop  offered  the  old  College  des  Bons 
Enfants,  now  vacant,  to  the  proposed  new  Society. 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    221 

This  was  accepted,  and  in  April  1624,  the  "Com- 
pany, Congregation  or  Confraternity  of  Mission  Fathers 
or  Priests,"  and  Antoine  Portail,  Vincent's  first  dis- 
ciple, went  to  live  at  the  Bons  Enfants  j  he  himself 
remaining  with  Madame  de  Gondi  until  her  death, 
which  followed  in  June  1625.  Then,  after  doing  his 
best  to  comfort  the  bereaved  husband,  he  joined 
Portail ;  and  so  humble  was  the  beginning  of  the 
since  mighty  Order  of  the  Lazarists,  that  when  Vin- 
cent and  his  colleague  went  forth  on  their  earliest 
missions,  they  could  not  even  afford  to  employ  any 
one  to  keep  the  house,  but  were  wont  to  lock  the 
door  and  leave  the  keys  with  a  neighbour  !  In  Sep- 
tember 1626  two  more  priests  joined  them,  and  the 
document  incorporating  himself  and  his  three  com- 
panions, signed  by  all  four,  is  preserved  among  the 
archives  of  Saint  Lazare,  as  the  original  act  constitut- 
ing the  Congregation.  It  was  so  far  only  that  Vincent 
de  Paul's  beloved  friend  and  director  saw  the  be- 
ginning of  the  work  which  de  Be'rulle's  prophetic  mind 
believed  would  develop  into  something  far  greater. 
He  died  in  October  1629,  and  it  was  not  till  1630 
that  the  first  steps  were  taken  which  led  to  the 
establishment  of  Vincent  and  his  company  in  the 
ancient  foundation  known  as  the  Le'proserie  de  Saint 
Lazare. 
This  house  was  served  in  1630  by  eight  regular 


222  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


Canons  of  Saint  Victor,  under  Adrien  le  Bon ;  but 
leprosy  had  ceased  to  be  a  prevalent  disease  in 
France, — there  were  scarcely  any  patients  in  the 
hospital,  and  le  Bon  was  utterly  dissatisfied,  and  most 
anxious  to  turn  his  house  to  better  account.  Having 
heard  of  "a  company  of  Missionaries,  who  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  poor  under  one  M.  Vincent," 
he  went  to  see  them  in  company  with  M.  Lestocq,  the 
Cure*  of  Saint  Laurent,  and  convinced  of  the  reality  of 
their  work,  he  at  once  offered  the  Priory  of  Saint 
Lazare  to  Vincent  de  Paul.  Not  unnaturally,  he 
expected  the  offer  to  be  received  with  eager  satis- 
faction, but  to  le  Bon's  surprise  and  disappointment, 
the  holy  man  at  the  Bons  Enfants  remained  silent 
and  as  one  overwhelmed,  and  on  being  pressed  to 
reply,  he  answered  that  the  proposal  was  too  much 
above  his  aims.  "We  are  but  a  few  poor  priests, 
leading  the  simplest  of  lives,  and  aiming  at  nothing 
greater  than  to  minister  among  the  country  folk," 
he  said,  and  so  he  declined  the  offer. 

Le  Bon  was  only  made  more  anxious  that  Vin- 
cent should  accept  it,  by  this  absence  of  all  self- 
interest,  and  he  insisted  on  waiting  six  months  for  an 
answer.  But  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  still  met  with 
a  persistent  refusal.  "  We  are  too  few,"  Vincent  said 
"  we  are  but  a  new-born  Community,  and  these  humble 
quarters  are  sufficient  for  us.  I  dread  the  publicity 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    223 

and  talk  which  would  follow  on  such  a  step.  We  are 
unworthy  of  such  promotion ;  leave  us  in  the  obscu- 
rity which  suits  us  best."  Le  Bon  continued  to  urge  the 
greater  service  which  might  be  done  for  God,  and  while 
he  was  pleading  the  dinner-bell  rang,  and  he  went  into 
the  refectory  with  the  little  Community.  Their  sim- 
plicity and  devotion  struck  him  more  and  more,  and 
he  determined  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  effect  his 
object.  During  the  next  six  months  he  and  the  Cure* 
of  Saint  Laurent  perfectly  besieged  Vincent  with  their 
arguments,  and  the  latter  went  so  far  as  to  tell  him 
that  he  was  resisting  God's  Holy  Spirit,  and  would 
have  to  answer  to  Him  for  rejecting  so  favourable  an 
opportunity  of  establishing  a  work  destined  to  pro- 
mote His  Glory  and  the  good  of  many  souls.  "  I 
would  fain  have  taken  the  good  Father  of  the  Mis- 
sionaries on  my  back,  and  have  carried  him  forcibly 
to  Saint  Lazare,"  the  Abb£  Lestocq  said,  in  recount- 
ing the  prolonged  struggle ;  "  hoping  that  the  beauty 
of  the  spot  and  its  many  advantages  might  overcome 
him;  but  he  was  invulnerable  to  such  charms,  and 
during  the  whole  eighteen  months'  discussion  he  never 
once  went  near  the  place." 

At  length,  in  despair,  Le  Bon  entreated  Vincent  de 
Paul  to  refer  the  matter  to  some  friend  on  whose  judg- 
ment he  could  rely,  and  to  his  great  satisfaction  Vincent 
consented  Andre  Duval,  his  director  and  ordinary 


224  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

confessor,  was  mentioned,  and  he  promised  to  abide 
by  this  venerable  Doctor's  judgment  As  might  be 
expected,  Duval  sided  entirely  with  Le  Bon,  and  Vin- 
cent succumbed.  After  discussing  and  clearing  away 
certain  difficulties  arising  out  of  points  of  discipline 
and  the  like,  a  concordat  was  signed  January  7,  1632, 
between  Adrien  Le  Bon  and  the  few  remaining  reli- 
gious of  Saint  Lazare,  and  Vincent  de  Paul  and  his 
little  company  of  priests.  The  former  was  to  remain 
there  during  his  life,  and  his  brethren  were  to  receive 
a  certain  annuity  from  the  funds  of  Saint  Lazare — 
guaranteed  to  them  by  Philip  Emanuel  de  Gondi,  the 
former  General  of  Galleys,  now  a  humble  Oratorian 
Father.  The  Archbishop  of  Paris  confirmed  the 
arrangement,  subject  to  certain  conditions,  among 
which  were,  that  the  Mission  Fathers  should  continue 
to  receive  lepers  if  necessary,  that  they  should  carry 
out  their  Missionary  work  in  all  the  villages  and  ham- 
lets of  his  diocese,  as  also  that  they  should  receive  his 
Candidates  for  Ordination  for  a  fortnight's  spiritual 
retreat  at  every  Ember  season  ;  indicating  by  this  last 
stipulation  how  valuable  he  felt  their  teaching  and  ex- 
ample to  be  to  the  rising  generation  of  the  Priesthood. 
The  King  and  the  civil  authorities  of  Paris  likewise 
ratified  the  transfer,  and  on  January  8, 1632,  Vincent  de 
Paul  took  possession  of  Saint  Lazare,  the  Archbishop 
himself  installing  him. 


VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.   225 


The  way  was  not  yet  altogether  smooth.  The  Prior 
of  Saint  Victor  questioned  Le  Bon's  right  to  hand  over 
the  hospital  to  the  Mission  Father,  and  instituted  a 
lawsuit  against  Vincent,  concerning  which  the  charac- 
teristic trait  is  recorded  of  him,  that  while  his  cause 
was  pleading  at  the  Palais  de  Justice,  Vincent  remained 
kneeling  in  the  Sainte  Chapelle  hard  by,  asking  not  for 
success,  but  simply  that  God  would  do  as  seemed  best 
to  Him,  and  grant  to  His  servant  a  contented  heart 
whichever  way  the  cause  might  be  decided.  There 
was  no  doubt  as  to  the  legal  question,  and  this  hin- 
drance was  soon  cleared  away.  The  Pope's  sanction 
was  also  given,  but  Urban  VIII.  died  before  his  Bull 
was  promulgated,  and  the  official  approval  of  Rome 
was  not  given  till  twenty  years  later  by  Alexander  VII., 
and  not  then  without  trouble,  as  Pope  Urban's  Bull 
accepted  the  Missionary  Fathers  as  secular  priests, 
whereas  during  the  interval  they  had  become  a  Re- 
gular Order,  and  considerable  opposition  was  raised 
to  them  on  this  score. 

During  the  last  century  a  strong  feeling  against 
formal  religious  vows  had  sprung  forth;  and  pro- 
bably the  line  taken  by  the  Oratorians,  and  their 
influence  over  the  spiritual  mind  of  their  period,  had 
tended  to  confirm  this.  M.  Olier,  the  founder  of 
Saint  Sulpice — of  whom  more  shortly — had  followed 
the  Oratorian  view  in  this  matter;  S.  Francis  de 


226  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Sales'  original  intention,  when  founding  the  Visitation, 
had  been  that  his  daughters  should  only  take  the 
simple,  as  opposed  to  the  formal  Religious  vows. 
Probably  during  his  earlier  years,  while  Vincent  de 
Paul's  mind  was  receiving  its  impression  from  his 
beloved  friend  and  guide,  de  Be'rulle,  he  imbibed  this 
opinion ;  and  at  this  period,  although  he  was  anxious 
that  his  Congregation  should  be  subject  to  a  formal 
Rule,  instead  of  the  "  simple"  vows,  which  at  present 
they  renewed  every  two  or  three  years,  at  the  same 
time  he  did  not  wish  them  to  pass  from  the  ranks  of 
Secular  Clergy.  He  always  maintained  that  the 
works  to  which  his  Congregation  were  specially 
destined  were  incompatible  with  a  technical  "reli- 
gious life;"  and,  above  all,  he  held  that  the  education 
of  the  Secular  Clergy,  which  he  considered  its  most 
important  office,  positively  required  instructors  out  of 
their  own  body,  similia  similibus*  With  this  object 
in  view,  he  decided  that  his  Missionaries  should  be 
called  Monsieur,  not  Father ; — that  they  should  retain 
their  family  names,  and  wear  the  ordinary  garb  of 
secular  priests, — in  a  word,  that  the  only  visible  dis- 
tinction between  them  and  the  Secular  Clergy  should 
be  their  more  abundant  zeal  in  the  exercise  of  their 
Apostolic  functions.  Instead  of  a  novitiate  for  those 
who  wished  to  join  the  Congregation,  he  established 
1  Vie  de  S.  V.  de  Paul,  Maynard,  voL  i.  p.  391. 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    227 

what  he  called  an  interior  seminary  (seminaire  interne) 
as  distinguished  from  the  existing  externes  or  diocesan 
seminaries. 

Those  who  became  members  of  the  Congregation 
were  required  the  first  year  to  express  their  deliberate 
intention  of  remaining  in  it  for  life  ;x  the  second  year 
they  took  a  simple  vow  of  "  stability ;"  i.e.  an  en- 
gagement to  work  all  their  lives  at  the  objects  of  the 
institution ;  and  this  was  to  be  renewed  at  the  end 
of  eight  or  ten  years,  as  the  Superior  might  judge 
advisable.  As  to  the  three  vows — poverty,  obedience, 
and  chastity, — for  the  present  he  was  content  with  a 
solemn  excommunication  to  be  pronounced  on  such 
as  should  belie  them,  once  every  year  in  Chapter. 
The  first  Assembly  General,  small  in  number,  was 
held  October  13,  1642,  when  Vincent  de  Paul 
resigned  the  office  of  Superior,  and  hastened  to  a 
small  chapel  adjoining  the  Church  of  Saint  Lazare, 
leaving  his  Congregation  to  elect  a  new  Head.  De- 
puties came  to  request  his  return, — but  he  only 
replied,  "  I  am  no  longer  Superior,  choose  an- 
other." 

Thereupon  the  whole  Assembly  came  to  the  rescue, 
and  after  some  brief  discussion,  they  solemnly  and 
unanimously  elected  him  for  life.  Vincent  bowed  to 

i  "Le  bon  propos  de  vivre  et  de  mourir  dans  la  Mission." 
—Vie  de  S.  V.  Paul,  Maynard,  vol.  i.  p.  387. 


228  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

the  decision,  saying,  "Brothers,  pray  for  me.  It  is  the 
greatest  act  of  obedience  the  Company  can  exact." 

For  some  years  the  question  of  formulating  vows 
continued  a  matter  of  discussion  and  perplexity,  Vin- 
cent de  Paul  feeling  that  certain  restraints  were  neces- 
sary for  the  Congregation,  while  yet  he  was  reluctant 
to  give  up  its  position  among  the  Secular  Clergy. 
Ultimately  a  form  was  decided  on,  which  was  pro- 
nounced and  subscribed  by  Vincent  and  his  Company, 

January  25,  1656,  to  this  effect: — "I,  N ,  an 

unworthy  Priest  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Mission, 
in  the  presence  of  the  B.  Virgin  and  all  the  Company 
of  Heaven,  vow  before  God  poverty,  chastity,  and 
obedience  to  our  Superior  and  his  successors,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  and  constitutions  of  our  Institution. 
Further,  I  vow  to  labour  all  my  life  in  the  said  Con- 
gregation for  the  salvation  of  the  country  poor,  with 
the  help  of  God's  All-powerful  Grace,  which  thereto  I 
invoke."1 

Thus  another  great  work,  destined  to  raise  the 
tone  of  the  Secular  Clergy,  had  sprung  forth  from  the 

1  "  Ego,  N ,  indignus  sacerdos  Congregationis  Missionis, 

coram  beatissima  Virgine  et  curia  coelesti  uni versa,  bono  Deo 
paupertatem,  castitatem,  et  superior!  nostro  ejusque  successor!- 
bus  obedientiam,  juxta  instituti  nostri  regulas  seu  consiitutiones, 
VOTCO  me  praeterea  pauperum  rusticanorum  salut!  toto  vitae  tern- 
pore  in  dicta  Congregatione  vacaturum,  ejusdem  Dei  omnipo- 
tcntis  gratia  adjuvante,  quern  ob  hoc  suppliciter  invoctx  " 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.   229 

mustard  seed  originally  sown  by  S.  Philip  Neri. 
Nor  yet,  although,  as  so  often  occurs  in  God's  pro- 
vidential order — the  branch  waxed  powerful,  and 
overshadowed  the  parent  stock — should  the  Church 
forget  that  she  owes  the  development  of  S.  Vincent 
de  Paul's  Missionary  Company,  and  the  blessed  work 
of  the  Lazarist  Fathers,  spread  as  it  has  been  over 
the  whole  face  of  the  world,  to  the  lowly  House 
of  the  Petit  Bourbon,  and  the  spiritual  counsels  of 
its  wise  head,  Cardinal  de  Berulle. 

Among  the  many  points  in  which  Vincent  de  Paul 
followed  de  Berulle's  mind,  one  cannot  but  be 
struck  with  the  slowness  both  exhibited  in  framing 
permanent  rules  and  constitutions,  until  time  and 
experience  shewed  what  would  really  work  best  for 
the  objects  of  the  new  Company.  We  have  seen 
how  de  Berulle  died,  leaving  the  stamp  of  his  mind, 
and  his  tradition  indeed,  in  his  rapidly  increasing 
Congregation,  but  with  its  Constitution  yet  to  be 
framed ;  and  in  the  same  way  Vincent  de  Paul  con- 
tinued to  be  the  living  rule  of  his  Company,  until,  at 
eighty-two  years  of  age,  he  felt  that  it  behoved  him  to 
leave  a  written  record  of  their  Founder's  mind,  to  his 
already  numerous,  and  since  then  vastly  increased 
family.  He  had  been  diligently  pondering  the 
matter  through  all  those  long  years;  he  had  consulted 
the  ablest  Canonists  in  Rome,  the  most  profound 


230  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

theologians  of  la  Sorbonne.  the  best  lawyers,  the 
most  practical,  and  the  most  spiritual  members  of  the 
Company ;  but,  following  the  Example  of  his  Master, 
he  believed  it  wiser  first  "to  do"  and  then  "to 
teach."  So  that  when  at  last  the  Company  received 
its  rules  and  regulations,  there  was  nothing  new, 
nothing  which  practice  and  experience  had  not 
already  made  familiar  and  acceptable. 

They  are  written  in  Latin,  and  formularised  in 
twelve  chapters. 

The  first  sets  forth  the  triple  object  of  the  Con- 
gregation, i.e.  (i)  the  spiritual  perfection  of  the  mem- 
bers ;  (2)  evangelising  the  poor,  specially  the  country 
poor;  (3)  training  clergy  in  the  knowledge  and 
graces  essential  to  their  office.  It  consists  of  clergy 
and  laity.  The  duties  of  the  former — following  the 
example  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Disciples — are,  to 
go  forth  among  the  towns  and  hamlets,  teaching  and 
catechising,  hearing  general  confessions,  reconciling 
differences,  restraining  contentions;  further,  they  are 
to  establish  the  Confrerie  de  la  Charite  when  able, 
to  conduct  Seminaries,  and  to  afford  Retreats  and 
Conferences  to  the  Clergy  generally.  The  lay  mem- 
bers are  to  assist  their  priestly  brethren  in  their 
various  functions,  and  to  co-operate  in  prayer,  peni- 
tence and  good  example.  Both  alike  are  to  remem- 
ber that  they  can  only  attain  their  object  by  "put 


S.   VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    231 

ting  on  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  which 
takes  form  in  the  evangelic  precepts — in  His  poverty, 
purity,  obedience — His  compassion  for  the  sick,  His 
humility,  in  His  daily  instruction  to  His  disciples,  His 
intercourse  with  men,  His  habits  of  devotion,  His 
mission  and  labours  among  the  people. 

The  next  ten  chapters  are  an  expansion  of  this 
summary.  The  Congregation  is  always  to  seek  spiri- 
tual rather  than  temporal  objects,  the  good  of  souls 
before  that  of  the  body,  God's  Glory  before  the  praise 
of  man ;  it  is  to  accept  poverty,  infamy,  torture  and 
death  itself,  rather  than  "  separate  from  the  Love  of 
Jesus  Christ;"— it  is  always  to  seek  God's  Will, 
shunning  all  evil  and  seeking  that  which  is  good, 
voluntarily  choosing  that  which  is  hardest  in  things 
indifferent,  receiving  joys  and  sufferings  with  a  like 
gratitude  from  God's  Hand,  blending  the  harmlessness 
of  a  dove  with  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  and  exercis- 
ing that  Christlike  gentleness  which  "possesses  the 
earth,"  that  humility  which  wins  Heaven  ;  and  therein 
esteeming  itself  worthy  of  contempt,  willing  to  be 
lightly  esteemed,  seeking  to  hide  whatever  it  has  of 
God,  or  at  least  referring  all  the  praise  to  God; 
renouncing  self-will,  and  private  judgment,  sensual 
indulgence,  excessive  family  affection,  attachment  to 
office,  place  or  person,  and  all  individual  peculiari- 
ties in  manners  or  dress,  way  of  teaching,  preach- 


232  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

ing  or  directing,  even  in  religious  exercises ; — loving 
all  enemies  and  seeking  to  do  them  good.  While 
obeying  all  the  Evangelical  precepts,  the  Congrega- 
tion is  specially  to  cultivate  simplicity,  humility, 
gentleness,  mortification  and  zeal.  These  five  graces 
are  to  be  as  the  very  soul  of  the  Company,  its  chief 
motive  power.  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  inasmuch  as 
Jesus  Christ  overthrew  Satan  and  established  His 
Kingdom  chiefly  through  poverty,  chastity  and  obe- 
dience, the  Congregation  is  diligently  to  imitate  His 
Example :  in  poverty,  possessing  all  property  in 
common,  no  one  disposing  of  anything  as  an  indi- 
vidual ;  all  their  appliances,  whether  of  furniture  or 
food,  are  to  be  humble,  nothing  under  lock  and  key, 
and  this  poverty  is  to  influence  even  their  wishes ;  and 
specially  the  members  of  the  Congregation  are  to 
remember  that  it  is  perilous  to  desire  ecclesiastical 
place  or  dignity.  Purity  is  to  be  watchfully  guarded, 
temperance  and  diligence  practised  as  its  mainstays, 
and  S.  Vincent's  sons  are  to  avoid  all  appearance  of 
evil,  remembering  that  even  a  suspicion  hinders  the 
work  of  their  ministry.  Obedience  includes  the  pre- 
cept to  "  ask  nothing  and  accept  all  things."  Those 
who  visit  the  sick  are  to  behold  their  Lord  Himself  in 
every  sick  man.  The  Missionaries  are  to  be  exter- 
nally remarkable  for  nothing  save  their  modest  de- 
meanour ;  among  themselves  they  are  to  be  friendly 


S.   VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZAR1STS.   233 

and  even-tempered,  avoiding  special  likings  and  aver- 
sions ;  their  intercourse  should  chiefly  be  with  respect 
to  religious  or  literary  matters  suitable  to  their  voca- 
tion, and  they  should  avoid  discussing  politics  or  the 
like.  As  a  wise  speech  is  cultivated  by  silence,  they 
are  to  be  careful  in  obeying  their  rule  of  silence. 
With  respect  to  the  outer  world  they  are  to  imitate 
their  Great  Example,  Who  was  the  Light  of  the  world ; 
as  God's  servants  they  are  not  to  cumber  themselves 
with  worldly  affairs,  not  even  with  extra  good  works, 
save  by  permission ;  they  are  not  to  bring  strangers  to 
the  House,  or  to  take  meals  without,  except  when 
authorised  to  do  so. 

Spiritual  exercises  are  to  be  diligently  practised — 
an  hour's  meditation  daily,  daily  Celebration  or  assist- 
ing at  Mass,  daily  reading  of  Holy  Scripture  and  some 
spiritual  book,  self-examination  twice  every  day,  the 
Office  said  in  common,  a  brief  visit  to  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  on  going  out  and  coming  in,  an  act  of 
adoration  on  leaving  the  room  and  returning  to  it, 
reading  aloud  at  meals,  weekly  confession  and  con- 
ference, spiritual  direction  and  manifestation  of  con- 
science every  three  months,  a  special  penitential 
exercise  on  Fridays  and  certain  other  days,  an  annual 
Retreat  and  review  of  past  life  :  such  rules  comprise 
the  simple  spiritual  system  which  has  trained  so  many 
holy  priests  for  their  Master's  Service. 


234  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

The  preference  to  Mission  work  before  all  else  is  to 
be  an  invariable  principle  with  the  Congregation,  and 
even  the  training  of  Clergy  is  to  be  secondary  to  that. 
All  the  Missionaries  are  to  strive  to  make  God's  Glory 
their  one  single  aim,  and  to  shun  all  that  savours  of 
mere  self-satisfaction  or  love  of  praise,  and  they  are 
all  carefully  to  avoid  the  perils  which  beset  them  in 
the  shape  of  languor  and  indolence  on  one  side,  and 
of  indiscreet  zeal  on  the  other.1  It  was  at  one  of  the 
customary  Friday  evening  conferences,  May  17, 
1658,  that  Vincent  de  Paul  gave  this  rule,  finally 
drawn  up,  to  his  Congregation,  explaining  in  simple 
words  how  the  various  parts  had  gradually  grown  into 
shape,  without  deliberate  framing,  and  rather  as  a 
matter  of  experience  than  of  foresight.  After  his 
discourse,  the  venerable  Founder  gave  a  copy  of  the 
Rule  to  each  member  of  the  Community,  beginning 
with  Antoine  Portail,  his  first  colleague  in  the  work. 
Each  Missionary  knelt  to  receive  the  book,  kissing 
the  beloved  hand  which  gave  it,  and  to  each  Vincent 
spoke  some  little  word  of  special  kindness,  ending 
with  "  May  God  bless  you."  When  this  was  done, 
Almeras  asked  his  blessing  in  the  name  of  the 
Company  kneeling  around.  Vincent  was  so  infirm 
that  he  needed  to  be  supported  on  either  side  before 

1  This  summary  of  S.  Vincent's  Rules  is  taken  from  the  AbW 
Maynard's  Vie  de  S.  V.  de  Paul,  vol.  i.  p.  400. 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.  235 

he  could  kneel  down  himself,  and  then  after  a  few 
words  of  fervent  prayer,  he  pronounced  the  solemn 
Blessing  in  the  Name  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 

The  end  was  not  very  far  off.  Rather  more  than 
another  year  was  granted  of  the  beloved  Father's 
presence,  but  it  was  a  season  of  great  and  varied 
suffering  to  himself,  though  also  one  of  continued 
work.  It  was  September  27,  1659,  at  4  A.M.,  the 
hour  at  which  for  so  many  long  years  Vincent  had  daily 
begun  his  work  for  God's  Service,  that  he  passed  to  his 
rest ;  "  faithful  to  his  rule,  only  this  time  his  devotions 
were  to  be  entered  on  in  God's  Own  Presence." 

Before  passing  from  S.  Vincent's  share  in  the  great 
work  of  raising  the  Priesthood  to  a  higher  tone  of  life 
and  doctrine,  a  few  words  more  must  be  said  on  one 
part  of  his  work  which  has  been  already  alluded  to, 
that  of  Retreats  for  those  about  to  be  ordained.  One 
of  the  French  Bishops  on  whose  mind  the  demoralised 
condition  of  the  Clergy  preyed  most  heavily,  was 
Mgr.  Potier,  Bishop  of  Beauvais.  He  was  intimate 
with  most  of  the  men  of  his  period  who  were  feeling 
after  better  things,  among  others  with  the  Abbe*  Bour- 
doise,  also  a  disciple  of  de  Be'rulle,  who  had  founded  a 
small  community  with  a  view  to  promote  the  better 
education  and  higher  tone  of  the  Clergy,  under  the 
inspiration  he  himself  had  gained  during  a  Retreat  at 
the  Oratory  in  1611. 


236  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Discussing  the  subject  with  Bourdoise  and  Vincent 
de  Paul,  sometimes  well-nigh  with  despair,  they  urged 
the  importance  of  beginning  at  an  earlier  step  :  they 
pleaded  that  it  was  little  short  of  impossible  to 
materially  alter  the  existing  priesthood,  and  that  a 
hardened  priest  is  rarely  converted,  but  they  were  pre- 
pared to  seek  a  remedy  amid  the  rising  generation, — 
among  the  aspirants  to  the  priesthood.  "  Admit  none 
to  Holy  Orders,"  Vincent  said,  "  save  such  as  have 
the  requisite  knowledge,  and  give  token  of  a  real  voca- 
tion ;  and  let  those  who  have  such  a  vocation  have 
the  longest  possible  preparation,  and  be  trained  as  far 
as  may  be  for  their  sacred  calling." 

Mgr.  Potier  felt  the  wisdom  of  this  advice,  but  how 
was  it  to  be  carried  out  ?  He  pondered  the  matter 
continually,  and  at  last  one  day  he  told  Vincent  de 
Paul  that  for  the  present  all  he  saw  possible  was  to 
collect  all  his  own  candidates  for  Holy  Orders  in  his 
own  house  for  a  few  days  at  least  before  their  ordina- 
tion, and  to  teach  them  as  much  as  could  be  got  into 
that  space  of  time,  hoping  to  rouse  them  to  a  sense  of 
the  weighty  task  upon  which  they  were  entering ; — he 
went  on  to  ask  Vincent  to  draw  up  a  plan  for  this 
retreat  and  a  systematic  course  of  instruction,  and 
further  asked  him  to  spend  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks 
at  Beauvais  before  the  next  ordination,  to  carry  it  out. 
This  was  done — Duchesne  and  Messier,  two  doctors 


&  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.  237 

of  the  Facult^  de  Paris,  were  also  present  to  assist  ;— 
the  Bishop  examined  the  Ordinands,  and  opened  the 
Retreat  himself,  and  the  whole  thing  was  conducted 
according  to  Vincent's  plan,  which  proved  so  satisfac- 
tory that  it  continued  to  be  the  model  of  all  future 
similar  retreats.  Vincent  de  Paul  himself  gave  a  series 
of  meditations  on  the  Commandments,  which  was  so 
practical  and  awakening,  that  the  whole  body  of 
listeners,  including  Duchesne,  made  their  general  con- 
fession in  consequence  to  the  conductor. 

This  led  to  a  rule  made  by  the  Archbishop  of  Paris, 
that  all  Ordinands  in  his  Diocese  should  prepare  for 
the  laying  on  of  hands  by  a  ten  days'  Retreat,  and  as 
has  been  already  said,  when  confirming  the  grant  of 
Saint  Lazare  to  the  Missionaries,  Archbishop  de  Gondi 
made  it  a  condition  that  they  should  thus  receive  and 
prepare  his  ordination  candidates.  The  result  of 
this  plan  was  most  satisfactory,  and  in  the  present  day 
.all  Ordinands'  retreats  hi  France  are  moulded  upon 
S.  Vincent  de  Paul's  first  system. 

The  young  men  who  came  to  the  Bons  Enfants  or 
to  Saint  Lazare  were  cared  for  and  ministered  to  by 
the  good  Missionaries  themselves; — two  instructions 
were  given  daily — those  of  the  morning  being  devoted 
to  moral  theology,  the  higher  administration  of  the 
Sacraments ;  the  qualifications  and  preparation  neces- 
sary for  the  priesthood  as  confessors  and  guides  of 


238  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

souls,  and  the  various  kindred  topics  branching  out 
from  these  great  subjects.  In  the  evening,  instructions 
were  given  on  meditation  and  mental  prayer;  on 
priestly  vocation,  its  signs,  and  how  to  correspond 
thereto,  on  the  obligations  of  God's  ministers,  and  the 
details  of  their  arduous  and  laborious  life.  Of  course 
the  time  was  too  short  to  exhaust  these  weighty  topics, 
but  in  order  to  make  the  best  possible  use  of  that 
time,  after  each  instruction  the  Ordinands  broke  up  into 
classes  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  each  under  a  Mission 
Priest,  who  examined  them  in  its  subject,  promoted 
discussion  thereof  among  themselves,  and  assisted 
each  man  to  profit  by  it.  The  men  were  also  instructed 
in  the  practical  performance  of  the  various  sacred 
offices  on  which  they  were  about  to  enter — the  reci- 
tation of  public  services,  and  administration  of  cere- 
monies. They  were  further  moved  to  close  this  season 
of  solemn  preparation  with  a  general  confession,  and 
they  were  not  dismissed  till  the  day  after  their  ordina- 
tion, after  a  high  Mass  and  a  Thanksgiving  Com- 
munion. 

Vincent  de  Paul  used  to  say  that  there  could  be  no 
higher  work  possible  than  training  good  priests ; — and 
he  encouraged  those  whose  hearts  failed  them  before 
the  difficulties  and  disappointments  inevitable  in  such 
an  undertaking,  by  the  thought  that  our  Lord  Himself 
only  trained  twelve  Apostles,  and  one  out  of  those 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.    239 

fell  away.  He  was  never  weary  of  asking  all  good 
Christians — men  and  women,  religious  and  secular — 
to  pray  for  the  Clergy,  especially  all  those  about  to 
be  ordained  in  the  Ember  Weeks.  A  humble  man, 
going  about  his  usual  work,  yet  from  time  to  time 
lifting  up  his  heart  in  prayer,  may  do  much  to  forward 
the  Church's  life,  he  said.  Speaking  of  this  one  day 
in  a  Conference,  S.  Vincent  began  to  quote  the  Psalm, 
"  Desiderium  pauperum  exaudivit  Dominus :"  and 
not  being  able  to  continue  the  quotation  he  turned  in 
his  simple  way  to  his  listeners,  saying,  "Who  will  help 
me?"  whereupon  some  one  immediately  finished 
the  verse,  "  preparationem  cordis  eorum  audivit  auris 
tua."1  "God  bless  you,  sir!"  Vincent  replied  (it 
was  his  usual  way  of  expressing  thanks) ;  and  he  went 
on  with  his  subject. 

The  example  of  humility  and  piety  witnessed  by 
those  who  were  so  happy  as  to  make  their  Ordination 
Retreat  at  Saint  Lazare,  must  have  been  almost  as 
instructive  as  any  words.  It  is  recorded  that  on  one 
occasion  the  venerable  Founder  himself  was  found 
cleaning  the  boots  of  a  candidate  who  had  been 
neglected  by  the  servant  whose  proper  work  it  was  ! 

"What   the  eye  sees   goes  more  straightly  to  the 

1  Ps  ix.  17,  Vulgate;  x.  19,  English  version:  "Lord,  Thou 
hast  heard  the  desire  of  the  poor,  Thou  preparest  their  heart, 
and  Thine  Ear  hearkeneth  thereto." 


240  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

heart  than  what  the  ear  hears,"  S.  Vincent  wrote, 
"and  we  believe  more  unquestioningly  therein  .  .  . 
There  is  a  somewhat  indescribable  in  the  exterior  of 
God's  own  servants,  a  something  lowly,  recollected, 
devout,  which  springs  from  their  inward  grace,  and 
which  reacts  upon  the  souls  of  those  who  are  brought 
in  contact  with  them.  There  are  men  among  us  so 
full  of  God  that  it  is  impossible  to  look  at  them  without 
being  touched  by  the  sense  of  it" 

Thank  God  that  what  S.  Vincent  said  then,  we  can 
yet  say  among  ourselves,  and  his  words  will  bring 
tender  loving  thoughts  to  many  a  mind  among  us,  of 
purity  of  life  and  exquisite  holiness  bearing  its  outward 
impress,  so  that  all  beholding  have  felt  that  him  on 
whom  they  looked  "had  been  with  Jesus"  (Acts 
iv.  13). 

S.  Vincent  used  to  tell  his  priests  that  even  if  they 
had  no  visible  gifts  for  teaching  the  Ordinands  who 
came  among  them,  they  had  a  mighty  power  of  indirect 
influence  by  their  example,  by  their  own  diligent  aim 
at  perfection,  which  ever  reflects  itself  on  all  around. 
And  in  the  same  spirit  he  used  to  exhort  them  to  give 
great  heed  to  the  reverence  with  which  they  performed 
all  offices  and  ceremonies,  avoiding  anything  like 
unseemly  hurry,  inattention,  or  carelessness  as  they 
would  avoid  more  overt  sin.  Among  the  numbers 
of  men  who  passed  through  these  Retreats  there  were 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZAR1STS.  241 

of  course  some  of  considerable  talent  and  intellectual 
attainment,  who  were  not  to  be  reached  by  any  mere 
display  of  knowledge  or  eloquence.  "  You  will  not 
win  them  by  saying  fine  things,"  Vincent  used  to 
tell  his  priests;  "they  know  more  than  we  do — 
nothing  we  can  tell  them  that  such  men  have  not 
heard  or  read  before :  but  it  is  what  they  see  that  will 
help  their  souls." 

He  always  urged  the  conductors  of  the  Retreats 
to  give  heed  to  simplicity  in  the  outward  expres- 
sion, and  purity  in  the  inward  intention  of  all 
they  said  : — to  deal  familiarly  with  subjects  which 
need  bringing  home  to  the  heart,  and  to  enter  into 
careful  and  close  detail,  avoiding  mere  generalities, 
always  aiming  at  a  clear  definite  impression  to  be 
left  on  the  listener's  mind  in  each  instruction. 
These  counsels  he  invariably  gave  to  all  who  took 
part  in  this  important  work,  and  there  were  many 
besides  the  Missionaries; — Bishops  and  doctors — 
the  most  learned  and  eloquent  that  France  could 
furnish,  rejoiced  in  taking  their  share  in  the  efforts 
made  for  the  edification  of  their  younger  brethren. 
Among  those  who  were  so  trained,  many  great  names 
occur,  of  whom  one  at  least  must  be  singled  out 
for  mention — Bossuet  The  future  Bishop  of  Meaux 
made  his  Ordination  Retreat  at  Saint  Lazare  in  the 
Lent  of  1652,  and  in  1659  and  1660  he  conducted 
Q 


242  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

that  retreat  for  his  successors  by  which  he  had  himself 
gained  so  much.1 

There  was  still  another  step  to  be  taken  on  behalf 
of  the  Clergy,  and  with  a  view  to  the  higher  tone  and 
standard  to  be  aimed  at  for  them.  The  beneficial 
effects  of  the  Ordinand's  retreat  were  necessarily 
variable.  Some  men  would  be  permanently  im- 
pressed,— the  whole  future  tenor  of  their  lives  would 
be  influenced  by  those  solemn  seasons ;  but  this 
could  hardly  be  anticipated  of  the  mass, — the  lack  of 
a  sufficiently  fixed  purpose,  indolence,  self-indulgence, 
evil  example,  and  the  snares  of  the  world,  would 
efface  or  weaken  those  impressions  in  many  minds. 
Something  must  be  done  to  keep  up  those  pious 
influences,  if  any  really  permanent  results  were  to  be 
expected  among  the  mass  of  Clergy.  Vincent  de 
Paul  and  his  missionaries  were  accustomed  to  gather 
together  the  priests  of  that  particular  neighbourhood 
in  which  they  were  about  to  hold  a  mission,  and  to 
discuss  with  them  various  practical  questions  concern- 
ing the  best  way  of  teaching  the  children  of  their  flocks, 
of  hearing  confessions,  of  preaching,  and  the  like. 
But  this  was  only  a  partial  way  of  meeting  the  want. 
A  more  extended  means  thereto  was  soon  suggested  by 
a  young  ecclesiastic  (his  name  is  not  on  record)  who  had 

1  Bossuet  also  conducted  Ordination  Retreats  at  Saint  Lazare 
in  1663  and  1666,  after  the  Founder's  death. 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.  243 

himself  profited  by  his  Ordination  Retreat,  and  who 
was  anxious,  on  his  own  account  and  that  of  others,  to 
keep  up  the  good  work  then  begun.  He  proposed  to 
Vincent  to  establish  periodical  gatherings  at  Saint 
Lazare  of  Clergy  who  were  anxious  to  keep  alive  and 
increase  the  good  impressions  they  had  received,  and 
who  felt  that  mutual  encouragement  and  conference 
concerning  the  duties  of  their  calling  would  strengthen 
their  hands  and  quicken  their  spiritual  life.  From  this 
movement  arose  the  "Conferences  Ecclesiastiques " 
of  the  Lazarists.  Vincent  de  Paul  began  by  selecting 
a  few  of  the  young  clergy  who  had  continued  under 
his  direction  after  their  Ordination,  and  proving  them 
by  intrusting  a  mission  to  the  workmen  employed  in 
building  the  Church  of  the  Visitation  to  their  care. 
He  watched  over  this  Mission  himself  with  a  special 
object,  and  then,  satisfied  with  his  men,  he  proposed 
first  to  each  separately,  and  then  to  them  all  collec- 
tively, to  unite  in  a  society  with  the  view  of  strength- 
ening and  raising  their  spiritual  life. 

The  system  was  soon  organised.  The  Superior  of 
the  Mission  was  to  be  director  of  the  Conferences — a 
prefect,  two  assistants,  and  a  secretary  completed  the 
official  staff.  There  was  to  be  a  conference  every 
Tuesday  at  2  p.m. ;  held  during  part  of  the  year  at 
Saint  Lazare, — during  the  rest  at  the  Bons  Enfants. 
Later  on  there  were  conferences  at  both  places. 


244  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Certain  rules  were  drawn  up.  The  applicants  were 
to  be  formally  admitted  when  satisfactory  proof  was 
given  as  to  their  conduct  and  doctrine,  and  after  pre- 
paration by  going  through  a  retreat  and  making  a 
general  confession.  All  members  had  a  simple  rale 
of  life  to  keep,  a  fixed  hour  for  rising,  at  least  half  an 
hour's  meditation,  hearing  or  celebrating  Mass,  daily 
reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  on  their  knees,  more 
or  less  study,  according  to  their  circumstances,  self- 
examination,  and  a  yearly  retreat ; — rules  which,  with- 
out being  burdensome,  were  likely  to  keep  men  in  a 
habit  of  self-discipline,  both  outward  and  interior. 
All  members  who  were  not  lawfully  hindered  (in 
which  case  they  were  to  give  notice  of  the  same  to  the 
Prefect)  were  bound  to  attend  the  Tuesday  meetings, 
to  which  all  Bishops  had  a  right  of  admission,  but 
other  clergy  not  members  were  seldom  admitted. 
These  meetings  began  with  the  Vent  Creator^  after 
which  the  subject  appointed  was  discussed.  These 
subjects  were  classed  under  certain  heads, — the  graces 
general  to  all  Christians,  the  duties  peculiar  to  the 
Clergy — administration  of  Sacraments,  sacred  services, 
ritual,  etc.,  and  the  special  duties  of  particular  eccle- 
siastical offices,  such  as  grand  vicaire,  dean,  cure*, 
etc.  No  one  was  to  speak  for  more  than  a  quarter  of 
an  hour.  Any  special  subject,  such  as  a  mission  about 
to  be  undertaken,  a  difficult  case  of  conscience,  or 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.  245 

similar  matters,  on  which  any  priest  wished  to  consult 
his  brethren,  might  be  brought  forward.  Towards  the 
close,  the  director  or  any  Bishop  present  gave  a  brief 
exhortation,  and  after  the  subject  proposed  for  the 
next  conference  had  been  announced,  the  members 
separated.  Most  of  the  leading  men  in  Paris  joined 
this  union,  and  it  proved  the  source  of  supply  to  many 
of  the  most  important  ecclesiastical  appointments. 
The  members  undertook  various  spiritual  works, 
missions  to  the  different  hospitals,  missions  in  Paris 
itself,  as  well  as  in  various  large  towns,  which  the 
Lazarists  themselves  did  not  undertake.  Among 
these  the  mission  of  Metz  was  prominent,  a  place  fear- 
fully neglected  during  the  disgraceful  episcopate  (if 
so  it  can  be  called)  of  Henri  de  Bourbon,  natural  son 
of  Henri  IV.  and  Madame  de  Verneuil,  on  whom  the 
see  was  conferred  when  he  was  six  years  old,  and 
who  was  never  ordained  !  Bossuet  was  Archdeacon 
of  Metz,  and  after  a  visit  paid  there  by  the  Court  in 
1658,  he  succeeded  in  exciting  an  earnest  desire  in 
the  heart  of  Anne  of  Austria  to  do  something  for  the 
spiritual  benefit  of  the  place.  Finding  that  the 
Lazarists  did  not  undertake  town  missions,  the  Queen 
asked  if  the  Conference  could  not  do  the  work,  and 
accordingly  at  the  next  Tuesday  meeting  it  was  pro- 
posed, and  the  members  decided  on  accepting  it,  and 
were  warmly  aided  in  every  way  by  Bossuet,  who 


246  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

succeeded  in  establishing  a  permanent  foundation  of 
Lazarists  in  Metz,  to  carry  on  the  improvement  of  the 
priesthood,1  and  missionary  action  upon  the  surround- 
ing country. 

The  Conferences  lasted  in  their  original  form  until 
the  Great  Revolution,  and  more  or  less  they  have 
been  revived  in  France  since  that  tide  of  evil  rolled 
back. 

There  is  one  more  of  S.  Vincent  de  Paul's  works 
which  must  be  mentioned  here,  although  not  ex- 
clusively confined  to  the  Clergy;  since  unquestionably 
it  was  another  useful  engine  in  raising  the  tone  of 
ecclesiastical  life  in  France.  This  was  a  great  under- 
taking, no  less  a  matter  than  throwing  open  the  gates 
of  Saint  Lazare  to  all,  whatever  might  be  their  station 
or  means,  for  spiritual  retreat.  Priests  who  could  not 
join  the  Conferences,  Clergy  from  all  parts,  laymen  of 
every  age  and  position,  devoted  Christians  who  sought 
to  confirm  their  devout  life,  sinners  touched  with 
grace  and  anxious  to  turn  to  God — all  were  welcomed 
within  the  hospitable  walls  of  Saint  Lazare,  to  the 
enormous  increase  both  of  labour  and  expense  to  the 
missionaries.  Hitherto  retreats  had  been  almost  ex- 
clusively used  among  religious,  or  at  most  among 
ecclesiastics,  but  now  whoever  would  might  profit  by 

1  "A  I'avanceraent  de  1'etat  eccl&iastique." — Archives,  Imp. 
M.  M.  535-539- 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.  247 

this,  one  of  the  very  most  helpful  practices  of  the  spiri- 
tual life.  Careful  training  was  given  to  the  priests, 
whose  business  it  was  to  conduct  the  retreats  and 
direct  the  exerdtanisy  as  they  were  called.  Sometimes 
the  retreat  was  given  to  a  number  of  persons  at  once ; 
— in  other  cases,  individuals  kept  their  solitary  retreat 
at  Saint  Lazare.  Vincent  de  Paul  drew  up  a  most 
minute  directory  for  the  guidance  of  his  priests  in  this 
pious  labour.  They  were  to  adapt  themselves  most 
carefully  to  the  needs  of  each  exerdtant,  putting  aside 
all  personal  views  and  objects,  never  seeking  to  force 
their  own  opinions,  never  assuming  a  tone  of  authority 
or  dictation.  Patience  and  forbearance,  encourage 
ment,  entreaty, — these  were  to  be  their  method  of 
treatment.  There  is  a  touching  quaintness  in  the 
instructions  to  the  conductor  how  he  is  to  enter  the 
exerdtanfs  room, — "with  modest  cheerfulness  and 
cheerful  modesty,"  and  the  suggestions  made  of  plea- 
sant little  speeches ;  how  he  is  to  explain  the  time- 
table to  any  one  coming  into  retreat  for  the  first  time, 
and  the  meaning  and  object  of  its  practices,  helping 
the  exerdtant  as  to  his  meditations  and  spiritual  read- 
ing, according  to  his  needs  as  priest  or  layman,  well 
read  or  ignorant; — and  before  leaving  him  for  the 
first  night,  the  director  of  his  retreat  is  to  make  sure 
that  nothing  needful  to  the  exerdtanfs  material  com- 
fort is  wanting,  that  he  has  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  books, 


248  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

light,  even — S.  Vincent  specially  notifies — coverings 
to  his  bed,  and  a  nightcap  ! 

It  was  in  vain  that  the  comptroller  of  the  household 
represented  from  time  to  time  his  incapability  of 
meeting  the  enormous  additional  expense  of  all  these 
guests.  "  My  dear  brother,  they  want  to  save  their 
souls,"  was  usually  the  answer ;  and  if  the  said  official 
in  his  ire  ventured  to  reply  that  a  great  many  came 
who  apparently  did  not  succeed  in  this  pious  inten- 
tion, the  Superior  would  reply,  "But  surely  it  is  a 
great  thing  if  some  few  only  are  saved  !  And  how  are 
you  to  tell  which  is  which  ?"  One  day,  after  being 
beset  on  all  sides,  from  within  and  from  without,  with 
remonstrances  as  to  his  too  free  hospitality,  S.  Vin- 
cent declared  that  he  would  restrain  it,  and  in  order 
to  be  sure  that  this  was  properly  done,  he  would  him- 
self be  doorkeeper,  and  only  admit  such  applicants  as 
were  unquestionably  not  to  be  rejected.  Of  course 
he  refused  nobody,  and  when  night  came  there  were 
more  guests  than  usual !  A  brother  came  to  tell  the 
Superior  that  not  a  room  remained  free.  "  Very 
well,  take  mine  then ! "  was  the  only  answer  he 
received. 

Bishops  established  retreats  in  their  dioceses  on  all 
sides,  and  it  is  recorded  that  priests  who  came  to  them 
reluctantly  went  forth  to  lead  a  new  life,  often  ex- 
claiming, "  Had  I  known  sooner  what  was  required  to 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZARISTS.  249 

undertake  the  office  rightly,  I  should  not  have  entered 
Holy  Orders  so  carelessly  as  I  did  !" 

The  last  work  undertaken  by  Vincent  de  Paul  for 
this  great  object  of  training  a  more  spiritually-minded 
clergy  was  the  establishment  of  his  Seminaire  interne, 
where  young  men  were  to  be  educated  for  the  priest- 
hood rather  than  specially  trained  as  a  novitiate  for 
the  Missionary  Congregation.  Perhaps  it  was  in  the 
natural  order  of  things  that  S.  Vincent  should  lay  less 
stress  on  intellectual  cultivation  than  de  Be'rulle  or  de 
Condren  had  done  in  training  priests ;  but  at  the  same 
time  he  was  very  far  from  despising  science  and  learn- 
ing, although  he  prized  humility  far  above  either. 
"  The  desire  for  knowledge  is  good,"  he  wrote  to  a 
priest  (July  18,  1659),  "so  long  as  it  is  in  modera- 
tion. Remember  S.  Paul's  warning  words.  Medi- 
ocrity will  suffice,  and  that  which  goes  beyond  it  is 
sometimes  more  to  be  feared  than  desired  by  Gospel 
labourers,  because  there  is  danger  lest  such  should 
lead  to  a  man  being  puffed  up,  inclined  to  shew  off, 
to  take  credit  to  himself,  and  to  neglect  simple 
familiar  duties,  which  all  the  while  are  the  most  useful. 
For  this  reason  our  Lord  chose  disciples  who  were  no 
more  than  competent  for  such  duties.  If  we  labour  to 
save  souls  in  the  Lord's  own  Spirit,  He  will  give  us 
the  light  and  grace  we  need  for  success.  If  you  are 
willing  to  know  nothing  save  Jesus  Christ  Crucified,  to 


£50  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

live  only  in  His  Life,  you  need  not  doubt  but  that  He 
Himself  will  give  you  wisdom  and  success."  And  he 
used  to  warn  his  younger  brethren  that  no  science 
could  be  really  beneficial  to  mankind  apart  from  piety. 
"  I  would  crave  for  you  all,"  he  said,  u  the  wisdom  of 
Saint  Thomas,  but  only  on  condition  that  with  it  you 
had  the  Angelic  Doctor's  humility.  Pride  causes  wise 
men  to  fall,  even  as  it  made  the  Angels  fall,  and  know- 
ledge without  humility  has  always  been  hurtful  to  the 
Church.  .  .  .  The  pettiest  little  demon  in  hell  knows 
more,  probably,  than  the  most  subtle  philosopher  and 
the  wisest  theologian  on  earth.  .  .  .  Make  good  use 
of  your  youth  to  learn  how  best  to  serve  your  neigh- 
bour. Do  not  lose  time,  for  the  work  is  urgent  and 
far  exceeds  the  supply  of  labourers.  Our  country- 
people  are  being  lost  for  want  of  teaching,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  earth  is  still  sunk  in  the  darkness 
of  unbelief.  Study  diligently  then,  strive  to  be 
learned,  but  without  losing  the  grace  of  humility." 

Gradually  S.  Vincent  de  Paul  became  more  in 
favour  of  colleges,  where  young  men  nearly  ready 
for  Holy  Orders  might  receive  one  or  two  years' 
definite  preparation  for  their  sacred  calling,  than  of 
establishments  intended  for  younger  persons ;  and  up 
to  the  time  of  the  Revolution  the  Lazariste  Fathers 
counted  fifty-three  grands  Stminaires,  and  nine  pctits 
y  as  the  latter  are  called. 


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  AND  THE  LAZAPISTS.  251 

Thus  the  work  of  revival  grew  in  France  among  her 
Clergy,  men's  hearts  were  turned  to  God,  and  if  the 
great  storm  of  Revolution  was  slowly  gathering  over 
the  land,  so  too  the  strength  with  which  the  Church 
of  Christ  should  meet  that  fearful  storm  was  being 
gathered  in  also,  and  when  the  evil  day  came  at  last, 
the  work  of  Oratorians  and  Lazarists  was  a  very  bul- 
wark of  the  Faith.  There  was  another  great  work 
besides,  also  springing  forth  from  the  same  source, 
which  has  had  no  small  share  in  maintaining  Christ's 
Kingdom  amid  the  terrible  assaults  which  have  been 
made  upon  it — that  of  Saint  Sulpice, 


252  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ST.  SULPTCE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLTER. 

CLOSELY  linked  with  the  names  of  S.  Vincent 
V^x  de  Paul  and  Pere  de  Condren,  as  God's  instru- 
ments for  the  spiritual  reformation  of  the  Church  and 
Clergy  in  France,  is  that  of  Jean  Jacques  Olier,  the 
Founder  of  the  Seminary  of  Saint  Sulpice.  He  was 
the  youngest  son  of  Jacques  Olier  de  Verneuil,  Secre- 
tary and  Maitre  des  Requites  to  Henri  IV.,  and  was 
born  Sept.  20,  1608,  at  which  time  his  parents  were 
living  in  Paris;  but  Henri  IV.  was  murdered  in  1610, 
and  a  few  years  later  Louis  XIII.  appointed  M.  Olier  to 
the  post  of  Intendant,  or  Governor  of  Lyons,  and  here 
he  and  his  family  became  intimate  with  S.  Francis  de 
Sales.  They  had  always  thought  that  Jean  Jacques 
displayed  a  vocation  for  the  priesthood,  and  though 
judging  by  after  events  Madame  Olier  thought  at  least 
as  much  of  the  worldly  side  of  the  matter,  and  of  tem- 
poral dignities  for  her  son,  as  of  a  higher  aim,  still 
they  were  disturbed  by  the  very  impetuous  wilful 
nature  of  the  lad,  which  from  time  to  time  roused 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  253 

serious  doubts  in  their  minds  as  to  his  fitness  for  the 
sacred  calling.  At  last  Madame  Olier  took  an  oppor- 
tunity of  laying  her  misgivings  before  the  venerable 
Bishop  of  Geneva,  and  asking  his  opinion.  He  pro- 
mised to  weigh  the  matter  well,  and  accordingly  one 
Thursday  after  Mass  had  been  said  in  the  Chapel  of 
the  Visitation,  when  Madame  Olier  brought  her  chil- 
dren to  S.  Francis,  "  he  received  them  with  all  fatherly 
kindness,  kissed  them,  and  as  he  spoke  with  the  like 
goodness  to  all,  the  mother  told  that  great  prelate  that 
Jean  Jacques,  the  youngest,  was  not  a  good  boy,  but 
refractory,  and  so  unruly  in  his  ways  that  he  often  put 
her  and  his  father  very  much  out.  Whereupon  the 
Saint,  to  console  this  dolorous  mother,  answered,  '  H6 1 
Madame,  a  little  patience !  Do  not  be  afflicted,  for 
God  is  training  up  a  great  servant  of  the  Church  in 
the  person  of  this  dear  child ;'  and  putting  his  hands 
on  the  boy's  head,  he  kissed  him  tenderly,  and  gave 
him  his  blessing."1 

S.  Francis,  moreover,  promised  to  take  her  son, 
when,  as  he  proposed,  he  should  retire  to  his  quiet 
hermitage  on  the  Lake  of  Annecy,  and  train  Jean  him- 
self for  his  sacred  calling  ;  but  very  soon  after  this  the 
venerable  Bishop  was  given  a  more  perfect  rest  from 
the  many  cares  of  his  busy  diocese,  and  this  promise 
could  not  be  fulfilled.  Young  Olier  grew  up  a  vigor- 
'ViedeM.  Olier,  pt.  i.  8. 


254  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


ous  hearty  schoolboy,  yet  with  a  deep-seated  religious 
feeling ;  for  he  used  to  say  himself  in  after  life  that  if 
he  had  done  anything  really  wrong  he  never  could 
get  on  with  his  lessons,  or  remember  what  he  had 
learnt  by  heart,  until  he  had  confessed  it.  His  father 
being  appointed  Conseiller  d'Etat,  returned  to  Paris, 
and  young  Olier's  education  was  carried  on  in  the 
University  of  that  city  and  at  the  Sorbonne.  He  dis- 
tinguished himself,  and  his  father  looked  forward  to  a 
brilliant  worldly  career  for  him,  which  according  to  the 
views  of  those  days  was  not  at  all  incompatible  with 
the  ecclesiastical  profession.  Accordingly  he  obtained 
the  Priory  of  la  Trinite'  de  Clisson  in  the  Diocese  of 
Nantes,  and  the  Abbey  of  Notre  Dame  de  PeT^rac  in 
that  of  Saint  Flour,  for  his  son,  and  at  eighteen  the 
handsome  schoolboy,  for  he  was  scarcely  more,  took 
possession  of  his  Abbey,  to  which  was  shortly  added 
the  Priory  of  Bazainville  in  the  Diocese  of  Chartres, 
and  the  title  of  Chanoine  Comte  in  the  Chapter  of 
Saint  Julien  de  Brioude  ! 

With  the  same  object  in  view,  his  parents  were 
anxious  that  he  should  display  his  natural  gifts  of  elo- 
quence, and  although  not  in  Holy  Orders,  his  title  of 
Abbot  was  a  qualification  as  preacher.  So  he  was 
handed  about,  making  a  great  display  in  sundry  of  the 
most  famed  Parisian  pulpits,  to  the  great  delight  of 
his  mother,  who  drank  in  all  the  pretty  things  that 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.    255 

were  said  about  her  son  greedily.  He  says  himself 
that  she  was  highly  pleased  with  him  when  she  saw 
him  prized  and  flattered  by  the  world,  preaching  with 
entrain  and  gentillesse,  fine  fashionable  sermons,  full 
of  vanity,  bristling  with  eloquent  and  fanciful  conceits, 
so  long  as  he  said  nothing  that  could  offend  the  world 
and  its  ways!  All  the  more  likely,  as  at  the  same 
time  young  Olier  mingled  freely  with  the  said  world 
and  its  pleasures;  and  his  parents  were  in  nowise 
reluctant  to  afford  him  the  means  of  doing  so.  They 
gave  him  a  liveried  suite,  two  handsome  carriages,  and 
promoted  his  success  in  society  to  the  utmost. 

Nevertheless  there  came  a  day  when  the  mother  at 
least  opened  her  eyes  to  the  danger  she  had  helped 
to  gather  round  her  son,  and  to  desire  his  conversion 
earnestly.  Such  a  manner  of  life  was  too  common 
among  the  upper  ranks  of  the  Clergy  at  that  period 
to  excite  any  astonishment  save  among  the  few;  but  a 
few  there  were  who  shuddered  at  the  frightful  desecra- 
tion of  holy  things  which  prevailed  all  around,  and 
from 

...  "  Many  a  hidden  dell, 
From  many  a  rural  nook,  unthought  of  there, 
Arose  for  that  proud  world  the  saints'  prevailing  prayer." 

Nor  were  such  intercessions  confined  to  the  "rural 
nooks."  A  poor  woman,  by  name  Marie  Rousseau, 
widow  of  a  wine-seller,  was  constant  in  prayer  for  a 


256  PRIES 'TL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

revival  of  faith  and  holiness  among  the  Clergy,  and  spe- 
cially for  those  of  the  Faubourg  Saint  Germain,  wherein 
she  dwelt,  and  which  (as  S.  Vincent  de  Paul's  history 
and  that  of  the  Mission  conducted  there  by  the  mem 
bers  of  his  Conference  shew)  was  one  of  the  very  worst 
parts  of  Paris.  One  day,  meeting  Jean  Jacques  Olier 
and  some  other  young  ecclesiastics  whose  lives  were 
more  fashionable  than  sacerdotal,  Marie  Rousseau  ad- 
dressed them,  exclaiming  that  they  cost  her  many  a 
weary  hour  in  praying  for  their  conversion,  but  that 
she  hoped  some  day  God  would  grant  her  prayers ! 
To  this  circumstance  M.  Olier  attributed  his  first 
awakening  to  the  perils  of  his  present  life.  He  broke 
away  from  his  social  bonds,  but  for  the  time  being  it 
was  only  a  transfer  of  worldly  eagerness  to  a  different 
channel.  A  new  ambition  seized  him  to  distinguish 
himself  at  the  Sorbonne  in  Hebrew,  and  he  hastened 
to  Rome,  where  he  expected  to  find  greater  opportuni- 
ties of  studying  this  language  than  in  Paris.  But  an 
acute  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  which  for  a  time  even 
threatened  total  loss  of  sight,  put  an  end  to  his  pro- 
ject, and  this  malady  was  followed  by  a  severe  fever 
which  seized  him  while  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Loretto. 
These  shocks,  and  God's  merciful  deliverance  from 
both,  fairly  roused  J.  J.  Olier  from  his  spiritual  torpor ; 
and  he  was  seriously  contemplating  entering  upon  the 
religious  life  in  some  Italian  convent,  when  his  father 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  257 

died,  and  Madame  Olier  urgently  recalled  her  son  to 
France.  In  spite  of  her  better  self,  Madame  Olier 
was  an  intensely  ambitious  mother.  She  had  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  high  office  for  her  two  lay  sons, 
and  she  was  anxious  that  her  priestly  son  should  not 
fare  worse  than  his  brothers.  Accordingly  she  had 
obtained  the  promise  of  a  Chaplaincy  to  the  King  for 
him,  which  she  hoped  would  be  the  first-fruits  of 
greater  dignities,  and  she  was  eager,  her  son  says,  that 
he  should  be  known  in  the  world,  and  become  con- 
spicuous at  Court.  She  wanted  him  to  attract  people 
to  her  house,  and  meant  to  shine  in  the  reflected  credit 
of  her  child.  Accordingly,  when  Madame  Olier  found 
that  he  resolutely  persevered  in  a  perfectly  different 
line,  forsaking  the  Court  and  all  worldly  society,  and 
giving  himself  up  to  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the 
ignorant,  she  was  indignant,  and  looked  upon  hin? 
as  a  disgrace  to  the  family.  Her  motherly  affection 
seemed  to  be  all  gone,  and  she  became  positively  un- 
kind to  him,  so  that  sometimes  he  used  in  sadness  of 
heart  to  turn  into  Notre  Dame,  and  kneeling  down 
before  the  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  would  cry  out, 
"  Be  my  Mother,  since  my  own  mother  casts  me  out !" 
Meanwhile,  another  saintly  person  was  led  by  God  to 
pray  fervently  for  Jean  Jacques  Olier,  though  she  had 
never  seen  him.  This  was  the  Prioress  of  the  Dominican 
Convent  at  Langeac,  not  far  from  Pe'brac.  This  holy 
R 


258  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

woman,  like  most  other  really  earnest  people,  felt  that 
the  only  hope  for  reforming  the  laity  lay  in  a  reformed 
Clergy,  and  her  prayers  and  intercessions  were  per- 
petual on  behalf  of  the  Church.  One  day,  when  the 
spiritual  desolation  of  her  country  was  weighing  more 
heavily  than  usual  on  her  heart,  the  Mere  Agnes 
prayed,  Elijah-like,  that  she  might  leave  this  sin- 
stricken,  weary  world  ;  when  within  her  soul  the  Lord 
Himself  seemed  to  say,  "  I  have  need  of  thee  yet  to 
help  a  soul  which  is  destined  to  set  forward  My  Glory:" 
and  not  long  after,  in  the  same  way,  it  was  revealed 
to  her  that  the  Abbot  of  Pel^rac  was  the  person 
indicated. 

She  had  then  never  heard  his  name,  but  for  three 
years  the  Mere  Agnes  persevered  in  prayers  and 
mortifications  on  his  behalf  without  any  further  know- 
ledge of  the  object  of  her  intercessions.  The  Abbe* 
Olier  had  an  instinctive  consciousness  that  powerful 
spiritual  influences  were  drawing  him,  but  he  knew  not 
whence  they  came,  and  he  was  meditating  an  entrance 
into  the  Carthusian  Order,  with  a  view  of  labouring 
for  life  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  when  a  remarkable 
dream  altogether  altered  his  plans.  His  own  account 
of  it  is  as  follows : — 

"  The  Mere  Agnes  was  praying  for  me  without  my 
knowing  it,  and  I  was  very  much  troubled  as  to  my 
vocation.  I  had  no  director  then;  I  did  not  even 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  259 

feel  my  need  of  one,  but  I  thought  of  becoming  a 
Carthusian.  I  had  cut  myself  off  to  the  best  of  my 
ability  from  what  was  sinful  in  my  life,  and  just  then 
a  worthy  Cure',  who  had  ministered  to  me  for  a  time, 
was  dying,  and  I  went  to  see  him.  Knowing  that 
there  was  nothing  he  cared  for  more  sincerely  than 
my  salvation,  I  begged  him,  that  the  first  thing  he 
asked  of  God  on  entering  into  His  more  immediate 
Presence  might  be  on  my  behalf, — namely,  grace  for 
me  to  know  clearly  in  what  way  He  would  have  me 
serve  Him  ?  Two  nights  running,  soon  after,  it  pleased 
God  that  in  my  sleep  I  saw  Heaven's  gates  opened, 
and  S.  Gregory  sitting  on  a  throne,  with  S.  Ambrose 
on  another  below.  Lower  still  there  was  an  empty 
cure,  and  lower  still  a  number  of  Carthusian  monks. 
Perhaps,  I  thought,  this  means  that  it  is  God's  Will 
that  I  should  serve  in  the  ranks  of  the  Clergy,  wherein 
those  two  great  men  ministered,  filling  the  post  of 
parish  priest,  which  may  be  a  more  necessary  duty 
than  that  of  a  Carthusian ;  and  I  may  be  intended  to 
work  with  an  order  of  priests  and  cure's  whose 
mission  is  to  help  on  and  sanctify  the  Clergy." 

From  this  time  M.  Olier  felt  a  decided  distaste  to 
the  idea  of  joining  the  Carthusians,  though  his  respect 
for  the  Order,  and  his  pleasure  in  joining  their  offices 
and  striving  to  imbibe  their  spirit,  was  as  strong  as 
ever.  He  now  determined  on  taking  Holy  Orders ; 


260  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 


and  so  doing,  he  was  one  of  the  first  set  of  candidates 
who  made  their  Ordination  Retreat  at  the  College 
des  Bons  Enfants,  under  S.  Vincent  de  Paul,  whom 
he  accepted  thenceforth  as  his  confessor  and  spiritual 
guide.  After  working  as  a  missionary  in  the  country 
for  a  year,  under  Vincent's  orders,  Olier  returned  to 
the  Bons  Enfants  for  his  Priest's  Orders,  but  here  he 
was  so  overwhelmed  by  a  sense  of  the  awful  respon- 
sibility of  the  Priesthood,  and  of  his  own  insufficiency 
for  it,  that  but  for  Vincent  de  Paul's  authority  he 
would  have  shrunk  back  from  being  ordained.  He 
spent  three  months  in  a  preparatory  Retreat,  and  on 
March  21,  1633,  the  future  founder  of  Saint  Sulpice 
was  admitted  to  Priest's  Orders.  He  was  one  of 
the  young  priests  who  first  gathered  round  S.  Vincent 
as  the  nucleus  of  the  Conferences  de  Saint  Lazare,  and 
before  long  he  went  with  several  other  members  to 
evangelize  the  parishes  belonging  to  his  own  Abbey  of 
PetMcac.  During  a  ten  days'  Retreat  which  he  made  in 
preparation  for  this  Mission,  Jean  Jacques  Olier  twice 
saw,  while  praying,  the  figure  of  a  Dominicaness,  who 
said,  "  I  weep  for  thee."  He  told  his  director  of  the 
vision,  but  neither  of  them  knew  at  all  who  the  nun  could 
be ;  and  he  proceeded  into  Auvergne  on  his  mission. 
During  this  mission,  Olier  often  heard  mention  made 
of  the  exceeding  saintliness  of  the  Prioress  of  Langeac, 
and  as  soon  as  his  missionary  labours  allowed  time, 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  261 

he  went  to  see  her;  but  it  was  only  after  several 
fruitless  attempts  that  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  an 
interview  with  the  Mere  Agnes,  when  he  at  once 
beheld  in  her  the  nun  of  his  visions,  and  she  recog- 
nised the  object  of  her  persevering  prayers.  From 
that  time  one  of  those  close  spiritual  friendships  which 
it  sometimes  pleases  God  to  call  forth  between  two 
souls,  and  to  bless  with  such  wondrous  fruit,  arose, 
and  lasted  during  the  Prioress's  brief  life.  Well  versed 
in  the  Religious  life,  she  counselled  him  in  the  reform 
of  his  own  Abbey,  which  M.  Olier  undertook  at  once, 
but  in  the  teeth  of  violent  opposition — fostered  by  his 
own  mother,  who  saw  that  her  son  was  thereby 
throwing  away,  what  were  in  her  eyes,  the  good  things 
of  this  world !  And  while  the  Mere  Agnes  helped 
M.  Olier  not  a  little  by  her  devotion  and  her  deep 
insight  into  the  hidden  life,  he  led  her  on  into  a 
clearer,  brighter,  more  cheerful  perception  of  the  things 
of  God  than  she  had  hitherto  enjoyed. 

It  was  not  for  long.  Those  members  of  the  Com- 
munity of  Pdbrac  who  did  not  wish  to  be  reformed 
attacked  their  Abbot  vehemently,  and  he  was  sum- 
moned to  appear  before  Cardinal  de  la  Rochefoucauld 
on  the  matter.  Pere  de  Condren,  General  of  the 
•Oratorians,  wrote  to  urge  his  immediate  presence  in 
Paris,  and  the  two  friends  who  had  been  so  touchingly 
drawn  together  parted,  never  to  meet  again  in  this 


262  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

world.  At  their  last  interview  Mere  Agnes  gave  M. 
Olier  her  own  crucifix,  taking  a  final  leave  of  him, 
and  almost  immediately  afterwards  fell  ill  and  died ; 
writing  just  before  her  death  to  the  Pere  de  Condren, 
whom  she  knew  intimately,  to  commend  M.  Olier  to 
his  special  spiritual  affection  and  guidance. 

M.  Olier  was  hearing  confessions  in  the  Church  of 
Saint  Paul  on  All  Saints'  Day  1634,  when  the  tidings  of 
Mere  Agnes's  death  reached  him.  "  Much  touched," 
he  says,  "  I  knelt  at  once  before  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, to  pour  out  my  sorrow  to  our  Dear  Lord,  Who 
had  taken  away  this  great  help  to  my  soul ;  .  .  .  and 
soon  my  tears  were  stayed,  and  I  felt  unable  to  grieve 
any  longer :  for  indeed  at  that  time  I  was  still  foolish 
enough  to  believe  that  one  must  grieve  at  such  losses, 
and  that  it  was  a  token  of  respect  and  affection  to 
those  who  were  gone — a  very  worldly  notion  forsooth, 
as  if  the  saints  who  go  hence  were  not  infinitely 
gainers  by  their  departure !" 

This  was  a  new  stage  in  M.  Oiler's  spiritual  life. 
Hitherto  Vincent  de  Paul,  doubtless  with  good 
reasons,  had  advised  him  to  retain  his  carriage  and 
horses,  and  a  certain  amount  of  retinue  and  conven- 
tional habits.  But  Mere  Agnes's  love  of  poverty  over- 
ruled this,  and  M.  Olier  gave  up  everything  except 
the  services  of  one  servant,  who  was  only  retained  by 
S.  Vincent's  express  command. 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  263 

The  important  business  for  which  Pere  de  Condren 
urged  M.  Oner's  presence  in  Paris  was  a  proposal  to 
raise  him  to  the  episcopate,  a  Bishop  who  had  become 
aware  of  his  great  zeal  and  earnestness  having  applied 
to  the  King  for  Oner's  appointment  as  his  coadjutor 
and  successor.  He  was  not  adverse  to  the  idea,  and 
S.  Vincent  de  Paul  would  at  once  have  encouraged 
him  to  accept  it,  but  it  was  not  God's  Will — He  had 
other  work  in  store  for  His  servant 

The  matter  was  decided  in  this  wise.  Nothing 
particular  had  come  of  Mere  Agnes's  dying  request  to 
Pere  de  Condren,  of  which  M.  Olier  probably  knew 
nothing,  and  for  some  months  he  continued  as  before 
under  Vincent  de  Paul's  guidance ;  but  he  was  un- 
settled and  disturbed  in  his  mind.  He  felt  that  God 
had  special  designs  for  him,  but  he  could  not  read 
them ;  and  apparently  Vincent  himself  felt  that  there 
was  something  he  knew  not  how  to  deal  with  in  his 
penitent's  mind,  for  he  failed  to  quiet  or  comfort  him. 
Then  Olier  went  into  Retreat,  hoping  therein,  face  to 
face  with  God,  to  find  the  rest  he  needed ;  and  even 
so  it  was.  While  struggling  with  the  fear  of  having 
committed  a  grievous  sin  (he  does  not  say  what  it 
was),  suddenly  an  irresistible  voice  whispered  within 
him,  "  Pere  de  Condren  would  give  you  peace  :"  and 
from  that  moment  he  was  at  rest.  Most  assuredly, 
that  most  humble  of  saintly  men,  S.  Vincent  de  Paul, 


264  PR1ESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

would  be  the  last  to  feel  injured  or  grieved  at  one  of 
his  penitents  finding  more  help  from  another  than 
himself,  and  he  gladly  assented  to  Olier's  seeking  the 
same  source  whence  he  had  himself  derived  so  much 
strength  at  an  earlier  period — within  the  Oratory. 

Apparently  it  pleased  God  to  give  Pere  de  Condren 
plainer  light  as  to  His  designs  for  Olier,  as  from  the 
first  he  resolutely  opposed  the  idea  of  a  bishopric, 
whereas  S.  Vincent  de  Paul  encouraged  it  "God 
has  other  intentions  for  you,"  de  Condren  said ;  "  they 
are  not  so  brilliant  or  so  conspicuous  as  the  episcopate, 
but  they  will  make  you  more  useful  to  the  Church." 
From  this  time  Olier  put  himself  entirely  under  Pere 
de  Condren's  spiritual  direction,  without  ceasing  to 
maintain  the  warmest  friendship  and  most  constant 
intercourse  with  Vincent  de  Paul ;  and  although  that 
holy  man  was  never  again  his  director,  M.  Olier  did 
not  cease  to  consult  him  in  all  the  important  questions 
which  arose  during  his  life  :  and  when  the  younger 
priest  died,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty- 
eight,  the  venerable  Saint  stood  beside  his  dying  bed, 
and  ministered  to  him  to  the  last. 

Meanwhile  Pere  de  Condren  used  every  effort  to  pre- 
pare the  young  priest,  whom  he  believed  destined  to 
a  great  work  for  the  Church,  rightly  to  fulfil  that  des- 
tiny. An  ever-increasing  knowledge  of  the  importance, 
the  responsibilities,  and  the  duties  of  the  priesthood, 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  265 

was  what  both  set  before  them ;  and  Olier's  admira- 
tion for  the  saintly  life  of  his  teacher  made  him  an  apt 
pupil.  He  writes  of  Pere  de  Condren  as  fulfilling  more 
than  any  one  he  ever  knew  the  Apostle's  description 
of  holiness — Christ  living  in  the  man,  so  that  it  was 
no  longer  himself,  but  Christ  in  him  that  served  on 
earth. 

The  Oratorian's  chief  aim  now  was  so  to  train  his 
disciples  to  the  highest  views  of  the  priesthood  as  to 
make  them  capable  of  training  others,  and  for  the 
present  he  counselled  M.  Olier  to  persevere  in  mission 
work.  A  Retreat  which  he  made  under  de  Condren 
before  returning  for  this  purpose  to  Auvergne,  had  a 
lasting  influence  upon  him.  "My  second  director," 
he  writes,  "  began  by  giving  me  up  more  to  the  Spirit 
of  God  than  the  first  had  done.  He  left  me  very 
much  to  myself  in  my  Retreat,  not  even  giving  me 
subjects  for  the  four  meditations  of  an  hour  each  which 
I  made  daily,  and  only  coming  to  see  me  once ;  his 
occupations  hindering  him  from  coming  into  the 
country  often.  And  now  I  began  consciously  to  realise 
the  guidance  oi  God's  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  wonderful 
care  He  took  of  me.  I  remember  how  I  learnt 
then  for  the  first  time,  and  to  my  great  astonishment, 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  really  Present  to  our  souls.  When 
my  director  came  to  me  I  was  glad  to  be  taught  and 
enlightened  concerning  this  truth.  'It  is  even  so/ 


266  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

he  said,  'Our  Lord  is  really  Present  to  our  souls. 
Christum  habitare  per  fidem  in  cordibus  vestris.  Per 
fidem,  that  is,  faith  is  the  foundation  of  His  Indwelling, 
and  it  is  formed  by  His  Holy  Spirit,  donee  formetur 
Christus  in  vobis'  And  he  said  further  to  me,  '  Now 
henceforth  you  must  perform  all  your  works  in  union 
with  the  Son  of  God,  either  by  feeling,  intention,  or 
faith.  If  you  have  a  conscious  feeling  of  His  Presence, 
unite  yourself  to  Him  through  feeling.  If  you  have 
none  of  that,  unite  yourself  to  Him  in  intention,  that 
is  to  say,  try  to  work  with  the  same  mind  and  intention 
as  He  had ;  and  if  you  cannot  do  this,  then  unite 
yourself  to  Him  in  faith,  that  is  to  say,  make  a  spiritual 
offering  of  all  you  do  in  union  with  His  works,  thus 
offering  those  as  well  as  your  own  to  God.'" 

This  teaching  henceforth  became  the  foundation  of 
M.  Olier's  own  spiritual  life,  and  the  key-stone  of  all 
his  efforts  to  lead  others  to  the  perfection  of  the  priest- 
hood at  Saint  Sulpice.1 

At  this  time  M.  Olier  was  firmly  persuaded  that  he 
had  not  physical  strength  for  mission  work ;  indeed,  his 

1  M.  Olier  gave  the  Saint  Sulpiciens  a  short  prayer  which 
Pere  de  Condren  had  given  him,  and  which  has  continued  in 
daily  use,  night  and  morning,  among  them  :  "  Venez,  Seigneur 
Je*sus,  et  vivez  en  votre  serviteur  dans  la  plenitude  de  votre 
force,  dans  la  perfection  de  vos  voies,  dans  la  saintet^  de  votre 
Esprit,  et  domincz  sur  toute  puissance  ennemie  dans  la  vertu  dc 
votre  Esprit,  et  la  gloire  de  votre  Pere." 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  267 

doctors  had  said  as  much.  But  his  health  grew  visibly 
stronger,  and,  like  other  obstacles,  he  triumphed  over 
this,  in  spite  of  most  exhausting  toil,  and  a  hardness 
and  roughness  of  life  which  must  have  been  more 
trying  to  a  man  nurtured  so  long  in  luxury  than  to 
many  a  fellow-labourer.  Whatever  time  was  not  filled 
up  by  the  arduous  toils  of  the  Mission  (one  of  his 
coadjutors  says)  was  spent  in  prayer,  and  when  inter- 
rupted by  a  summons  to  meals,  M.  Olier  might  be 
heard  ejaculating  "Amor  meus  crucifixus  est "  ("  Jesus, 
my  love  is  crucified ! ")  in  a  tone  which  penetrated  all 
hearts. 

In  a  letter  written  during  this  Mission  to  Vincent 
de  Paul  and  the  priests  of  the  Conference,  pleading 
for  more  workers,  M.  Olier  says  :  "  Do  not  refuse  such 
help  to  Jesus  :  it  is  too  great  an  honour  to  work  under 
Him,  to  set  forward  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  His 
Glory  therein,  which  will  last  for  all  eternity.  ...  Go 
on  in  this  blessed  work — there  is  nothing  like  it  on 
earth.  O  Paris  !  Paris  !  you  and  your  trifling  distract 
men  who  might  convert  several  worlds  ! "  In  another 
letter,  describing  a  subsequent  mission  in  Auvergne, 
M.  Olier  says  that  though  they  were  but  a  body  of  six 
priests,  they  had  heard  more  than  two  thousand  general 
confessions.  The  country-people  from  long  distances 
brought  provisions  for  two  or  three  days,  and  slept  as 
they  might  in  barns  and  sheds,  where  they  might  be 


268  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

heard  talking  over  what  they  had  heard,  and  singing 
the  hymns  they  had  been  taught.  He  made  great 
efforts  to  induce  the  local  clergy  to  rouse  themselves 
and  assist  the  Missioners,  and  that  most  successfully ; 
for  many  cathedral  dignitaries  and  priors  of  con- 
vents joined  them,  and  went  about  helping  to  preach 
and  catechise.  M.  Olier  says  that  he  could  not  help 
attributing  this  in  a  great  measure  to  the  persevering 
prayers  of  the  Mere  Agnes;  and  he  adds  that  Pere  de 
Condren  used  often  to  say  that  he  believed  the  whole 
results  of  a  sermon  or  instruction  were  often  owing  to 
prayer, — it  might  be  the  prayers  of  some  poor, 
•unlearned  woman  in  the  congregation. 

Eighteen  months  of  such  work,  however,  proved  too 
•  much  for  the  Missioner's  strength.  His  own  account 
of  his  illness  is  too  touching  to  pass  over.  "  I  had 
been  saying  to  one  of  my  friends  that  I  wanted 
nothing  but  a  fortnight's  illness  to  be  sure  that  God 
had  accepted  our  work ;  and  so  it  fell  out,  that  on  the 
very  last  day  of  our  last  Mission — that  of  De  la  Motte- 
Canillac— as  I  was  returning  home,  I  felt  in  a  very  un- 
wonted state  of  peace,  free  from  all  cares,  although 
hitherto  I  had  been  surrounded  with  anxieties.  It 
seemed  as  if  crosses  were  a  very  strength  and  stay  to 
my  soul,  without  which  I  was  weak;  and  now  I  felt 
quite  overwhelmed  at  their  apparent  absence.  It  was 
not  to  be  for  long ;  for  just  as  I  arrived  at  Langeac, 


SAINT  SVLPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OL1ER.  269 

and  was  entering  the  church  of  the  monastery  where 
the  blessed  Sister  Agnes  had  lived  and  died — she  who 
had  foretold  so  many  crosses  to  me — I  was  seized 
with  a  most  violent  headache,  which  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  severe  illness.  Directly  that  I  was  seized 
with  the  pain,  I  felt  inwardly  drawn  to  make  a  vow  to 
Mgr.  de  Geneve  for  restoration  to  health,  and  I  felt 
somehow  sure  of  it  at  once.  I  remember  that, 
although  half  unconscious,  I  felt  as  though  some 
voice  within  had  blessed  me  and  assured  me  that  I 
should  not  die ;  and  I  called  my  dear  friend  M.  de 
Foix  and  said,  '  I  shall  not  die ;  go  and  fetch  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  from  the  convent  church.'  We 
were  then  in  the  Aumonier's  room,  and  as  it  was  two 
o'clock  in  the  night,  he  could  not  have  procured  that 
Blessing  for  me  elsewhere.  Meanwhile  the  pain 
became  so  intense  that  the  doctors  gave  me  up,  and 
exhausting  all  their  remedies,  they  tried  one  which 
threw  me  into  a  sort  of  apoplexy.  During  this  time 
they  tried  to  confess  me,  but  I  could  only  give  broken 
answers,  and  soon  lost  all  power  of  speech.  The 
doctors  struck  their  lancets  deep  into  my  shoulders 
without  my  seeming  to  feel  anything,  and  believ- 
ing that  my  last  hour  was  come,  they  administered 
the  Extreme  Unction.  I  just  remember  then  that 
although  I  had  lost  speech  and  hearing,  I  answered 
at  the  Name  of  Jesus,  as  also  to  that  of  the  Blessed 


270  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Virgin,  whom  I  called  my  maman  like  a  child,  for  I 
had  no  command  of  my  reason  then.  .  .  . 

"  This  illness  was  a  proof  to  me  of  the  Saviour's  Pro- 
mise that  He  will  give  a  hundredfold  to  those  who 
have  forsaken  or  sacrificed  anything  for  Him.  Being 
thus  in  extremis,  in  a  lonely  place  far  away  from  my 
family,  God  willed  to  succour  me  with  His  Providence, 
and  to  give  me  every  possible  earthly  assistance.  It 
so  happened  that  that  very  day,  two  first-rate  phy- 
sicians came  to  Langeac,  as  if  on  purpose  for  me,  one 
without  any  summons  from  a  place  two  hundred  miles 
off,  the  other  had  been  sent  for  to  see  the  little  daugh- 
ter of  th*  seigneur  de  la  ville.  The  impossibility  of 
getting  to  my  own  abbey  was  a  fresh  sign  of  God's 
Providence,  because  I  remained  close  to  these  good 
doctors ;  and  instead  of  the  mother,  sister,  and  two 
brothers  whom  I  had  left,  I  found  numberless  people 
who  shewed  more  than  mother's  and  brothers'  love 
for  me — all  they  did  was  done  out  of  such  pure,  disin- 
terested charity,  that  it  seemed  as  though  God  only 
were  ministering  to  me.  My  own  family  were  far  off, 
but  I  had  the  family  of  God  my  Father  round,  and 
they  provided  for  all  my  wants  with  such  abundance 
and  profusion,  that  our  Lord  not  only  fulfilled  in  my 
favour  the  prophecy,  that  they  who  forsake  flesh  and 
blood  for  His  Sake  shall  receive  a  hundredfold,  but  in 
exchange  for  those  I  had  left,  He  gave  me  far  holier 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  271 

ties — people  who  were  able  to  do  far  more  for  me  than 
my  own  relations — especially  my  friends,1  who  minis- 
tered continually  to  me,  and  were  more  than  brothers 
to  me.  .  .  . 

"  During  this  time  my  sister,  who  was  in  Paris,  and 
who  was  greatly  opposed,  like  the  rest  of  my  relations, 
to  my  work,  died  in  the  midst  of  her  family  without 
being  assisted  by  any  one,  forsaken  of  all  her  friends. 
Surely  this  might  be  a  proof  to  all  my  family  that 
there  is  no  profit  in  serving  the  world,  which  forsakes 
one  in  extremity,  while  on  the  other  hand  there  is 
everything  to  gain  in  serving  God,  Who  uses  even 
men  of  the  world  in  spite  of  themselves  for  the  service 
of  His  children. 

"  I  had  gone  to  those  wild  parts  against  the  will  of 
my  relations,  but  now  God  sent  my  mother  and  my 
youngest  brother  to  me.  On  hearing  of  my  illness, 
my  mother  set  out,  meaning  to  take  me  back  to  Paris 
in  her  carriage ;  for  in  my  great  weakness  I  could  not 
have  sat  a  horse.  But  she  found  me  cured,  and  in 
order  to  shew  her  Who  had  watched  over  me  while  I 
was  serving  Him,  I  let  her  see  some  three  or  four 
hundred  poor  people,  who  followed  me  out  of  the 
town ;  and  then  she  saw  how  they  loved  me,  and  how 
their  prayers  and  entreaties  had  won  my  cure.  Poor 

i  His  brother  Missioners,  M.  de  Foix,  M.  Meyster,  and  M.  de 
PerrocheL 


272  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

things,  in  their  astonishment  at  my  recovery,  they  all 
kept  saying,  '  He  was  gone  to  Paradise,  but  he  has 
come  back  !'  Not  all  the  wealth  and  position  of  ray 
family  could  have  obtained  my  cure,  as  the  prayers  of 
these  poor  people  did.  Thanks  be  to  God,  Who  never 
fails  to  preserve  them  that  are  His,  however  weak  and 
needy — of  a  truth .  we  never  lose  anything  by  serving 
Him!"1 

On  his  return  to  Paris,  M.  Olier  was  warmly 
received  by  the  religious  world  generally,  as  well  as 
by  Vincent  de  Paul,  who  embracing  him,  said,  "  I  do 
not  know  what  you  do  to  bring  it  about,  but  assuredly 
God's  Blessing  follows  you  wherever  you  go."  He 
continued  working  thus,  reforming  several  large  con- 
vents, and  giving  everywhere  the  rule  of  his  own  life 
— "  Plaire  &  Dieu"  ("  to  please  God,")— as  the  watch- 
word of  a  holy  life. 

Apparently  it  was  at  this  time  that  M.  Olier  became 
intimate  with  the  Pere  Bourdoise,  already  mentioned 
as  working  in  the  cause  of  ecclesiastical  education  and 
reform.  He  seems  to  have  been  very  rough  and  un- 
complimentary in  his  language,  and  somewhat  exact- 
ing in  his  standard  of  ecclesiastical  fitness;  for  he 
rebuked  M.  Olier  and  his  companions  de  Foix  and  de 
Ferrier,  as  wanting  in  external  clerical  simplicity,  and 
he  is  said  to  have  taxed  S.  Vincent  de  Paul  with 
'  Vie,  Pt.  i  p.  86. 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  273 

timidity  and  cowardice,  so  far  as  to  have  called  him  a 
poule  mouittUI*  Nevertheless  his  advice  on  various 
points  connected  with  the  subject  which  was  so  close 
to  both  their  hearts  proved  very  valuable  to  M. 
Olier,  and  he  and  his  companions  always  looked 
upon  the  Pere  Bourdoise  as  their  master  in  clerical 
life. 

Again  M.  Olier  was  on  the  point  of  receiving  the 
episcopate,  and  again  Pere  de  Condren  interfered. 
The  Bishop  of  Chalons,  like  all  other  true  pastors, 
mourned  over  the  deplorable  condition  of  his  diocese  ; 
and  believing  that  nothing  would  tend  so  much  to  its 
reformation  as  a  good  Training  College  for  the  Clergy, 
he  applied  to  Cardinal  Richelieu  for  M.  Olier  as  his 
coadjutor.  Louis  XIII.  at  once  confirmed  the  appoint- 
ment, and  the  brevet  was  actually  sent  to  M.  Olier ; 
who  however  referred  the  question  to  Pere  de  Condren, 
and  was  again  told  that  God  had  other  designs  for 
him  :  whereupon  he  immediately  declined  the  office. 

Cardinal  Richelieu  pressed  the  appointment,  and  it 
was  only  after  a  personal  interview  with  the  Missioner 
that  he  could  believe  in  an  ecclesiastic  of  that  day 
deliberately  refusing  such  an  office,  which  held  out 
the  additional  attraction  of  making  its  holder  a  pair 
de  France.  The  disappointment  of  Madame  Olier  on 
this  occasion  knew  no  bounds.  However  lightly  her 
1  Vie  de  M.  Olier,  pt  i.  p.  99. 


274  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

son  might  esteem  such  worldly  dignities,  they  had  the 
highest  possible  attraction  for  her,  and  her  mortifica- 
tion took  vent  in  the  most  bitter  reproaches  and 
almost  estrangement  from  her  son.  He  was  not  living 
under  her  roof  at  this  time.  Guided  by  de  Condren's 
advice,  M.  Olier  and  his  friends  were  living  at  Saint- 
Maur-des-Fosses,  near  Paris,  preparing  for  their  great 
work,  and  leading  a  community  life,  with  M.  Amelote 
as  their  Superior.  M.  Olier  was  an  object  of  general 
esteem  and  admiration — his  personal  advantages,  his 
successful  work,  his  resolute  indifference  to  high 
worldly  office,  all  tended  to  make  him  a  great  name, 
and  he  suffered  acutely  from  the  temptations  of  pride 
and  vanity  which  beset  him.  He  says  that  he  felt 
himself  entangled  in  a  very  network  of  self-conceit 
and  human  respect ;  and  "  when  I  came  to  that  part 
of  my  confessions,"  he  says  naively,  "  I  was  in  despair! 
Sometimes,  walking  alone  in  our  garden  after  meals,  I 
was  so  tormented  by  these  ideas,  that  with  tears  I 
used  to  cry  out,  '  When  shall  I  find  the  Divine  Life, 
and  live  to  God  Only  ! '  " 

His  earnest  prayers  to  be  made  humble  were  an- 
swered— as  God  is  wont  to  answer  the  sincere  prayers 
of  His  children — in  a  way  M.  Olier  did  not  look  for, 
and  through  bitter  suffering.  A  complete  mental 
paralysis  seemed  to  come  upon  him.  He  lost  all 
powers  of  memory  and  apprehension ;  he  could  not 


SAINT  SULP1CE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER,  275 

understand  what  he  heard,  or  express  his  own  thoughts ; 
sometimes  when  he  tried  to  write,  he  did  not  succeed 
in  producing  two  or  three  legible  lines  after  some  hours' 
work.  Whatever  he  undertook  failed — a  thick  cloud 
had  passed  over  all  his  faculties,  natural  and  super- 
natural. Of  these  last,  he  says  (writing  about  that 
dark  season)  :  "  I  had  looked  upon  them  (supernatural 
gifts)  as  personal  acquisitions,  and  their  withdrawal 
left  me  in  a  strange  state  of  darkness  and  dryness — 
without  any  sense  of  God  in  me,  full  of  ebullitions  of 
pride  and  self-love,  hedged  in  with  human  respect, 
sensitively  anxious  as  to  what  the  world  would  think 
of  me.  These  notions  gave  me  no  rest,  and  were  the 
greater  cross  that  I  seemed  to  yield  to  them.  From 
the  bottom  of  my  soul  I  longed  to  do  nothing  save 
for  God,  but  nevertheless  I  felt  as  if  I  did  everything 
for  myself.  So,  too,  I  had  fancied  that  the  blessings 
attendant  on  my  ministry  were  personal,  and  God  in 
His  Goodness  withdrew  them,  in  order  to  make  me 
realise  what  I  was  without  His  Help,  and  Whose  were 
these  gifts  which  I  had  fondly  thought  to  be  my  own. 
Thus,  when  I  had  to  speak  or  expound  some  passage 
of  Holy  Scripture,  I  did  it  so  confusedly  and  badly, 
in  such  incorrect  words,  as  to  prove  that  there  was  no 
spark  of  heavenly  fire  in  me. 

"  Hearing  confessions,  I  knew  not  what  to  say  to  my 
penitents ;  I  was  as  one  forsaken  of  God.     I  felt  so 


2  76  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRA  NCR. 

sorry  for  the  people  who  came  to  me  that  I  used  to 
ejaculate  mentally,  '  Poor  souls !  you  know  not  whom 
you  seek !  What  a  misfortune  I  am  to  you  1 '  When  I 
was  called  on  to  preach  I  had  neither  ideas  or  words 
at  command;  and  though  I  continued  stedfast  in 
prayer,  no  ray  of  light  gladdened  me  in  it.  I  felt 
nought  save  darkness,  dryness,  impossibility  of  look- 
ing up  to  God ;  and  so  I  thought  all  I  had  rejoiced  in 
before  was  but  an  illusion,  and  my  worst  trouble  of 
all  was  that  I  had  no  grounds  to  believe  that  God 
loved  me.  One  day  Pere  de  Condren  was  assuring  me 
that  all  this  was  but  trial  and  temptation.  '  Would 
to  God,'  I  answered,  'that  these  were  only  trials, 
even  if  they  lasted  to  all  eternity;  so  long  as  I  am  not 
abhorred  of  God,  I  should  not  mind.'  And  my  big 
tears  fell  fast" 

Every  kind  of  external  humiliation  was  added  to 
these  severe  inward  trials — the  whole  world,  relations, 
friends,  attendants,  great  and  small,  every  one  seemed 
to  despise  and  reject  him.  His  refusal  of  the  Bishop- 
ric of  Chalons  was  turned  against  him  as  though  he 
were  deficient  in  intellect  to  lose  such  an  office — the 
King,  the  Cardinal,  the  Chancellor,  the  Bishops,  all 
his  relations  and  friends,  spoke  contemptuously  of 
him — stranger  still,  his  fellow-labourers  changed  their 
high  opinion  of  his  merits,  and  began  to  look  down 
upon  him  as  foolish  and  devoid  of  God's  guiding 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  277 

Spirit.  They  restrained  him  from  his  ordinary  work, 
forbade  him  to  preach  or  teach,  or  to  hear  confessions 
save  in  case  of  absolute  necessity ;  they  attributed  his 
extreme  depression  to  regrets  at  having  been  hindered 
accepting  the  bishopric,  and  the  Superior  of  their  little 
community,  Amelote,  told  him  that  he  was  good  for 
nothing,  and  had  better  go  away  and  hide  himself! 

Truly  his  prayer  that  the  high  esteem  and  perilous 
good  opinion  men  had  of  him  might  be  averted  had 
received  a  bitter  answer !  Even  Pere  de  Condren,  in 
whom  poor  M.  Olier  rested  more  than  in  any  other 
human  being,  appeared  to  his  troubled  mind  to  forsake 
him,  although  evidently  that  saintly  man,  who  had 
himself  gone  through  spiritual  trials  and  knew  their 
signification,  looked  upon  these  which  beset  his 
spiritual  son  as  only  a  part  of  God's  training  to  make 
him  fitter  for  the  great  work.  De  Condren's  life  was 
drawing  to  a  close ;  and  on  the  very  last  occasion  that 
M.  Olier  visited  him,  after  dwelling  upon  the  Angel  of 
the  Apocalypse,  and  urging  devotion  to  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  as  that  specially  incumbent  on  the  priest- 
hood, he  concluded  by  saying  very  earnestly,  "  Take 
the  Infant  Jesus  for  your  Director" — words  which 
impressed  M.  Olier  all  the  more  forcibly,  that  he  had 
already  given  himself  up  to  the  special  guidance  of 
the  Child  Jesus, — feeling  drawn  above  all  else  to  the 
sweet  helplessness  and  tender  patience  of  the  Saviour's 


278  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Infancy,  in  his  own  mental  and  physical  weakness 
and  incapacity. 

They  never  met  again.  De  Condren  had  by  this 
time  worked  out  his  ideas  concerning  the  education  of 
the  Clergy,  and  intended  committing  them  to  writing, 
a  proceeding  which  he  had  delayed,  not  from  indo- 
lence, but,  as  it  would  appear,  from  a  desire  to  give 
prolonged  thought  and  consideration  to  the  matter. 
Now  his  illness  advanced  in  rapid  strides  upon  him, 
and  when  Marie  Rousseau  (that  devout  widow  whose 
influence  was  so  marked  and  peculiar  among  all  these 
learned  holy  men)  came  to  see  him,  and  he  spoke  of 
beginning  to  write,  she  told  him  at  once  that  it  was 
too  late.  Pere  de  Condren  accepted  her  assertion 
calmly,  and  resolved  to  impart  his  thoughts  verbally 
instead  to  M.  du  Ferrier,  the  disciple  who  was  nearest 
at  hand,  and  who  was  asking  instruction  on  certain 
points.  "  We  will  leave  these  matters  for  the  present," 
de  Condren  said ;  "  I  have  other  things  to  speak  of, 
but  it  is  late  now :  come  to-morrow  at  eight  o'clock." 

Accordingly,  the  next  morning,  the  venerable  Father 
entered  at  length  into  his  views,  and  set  forth  his 
belief  that,  however  valuable  missions  might  be,  their 
value  was  comparatively  lost  if  the  impressions  made 
therein  were  not  followed  up  by  competent  handling 
of  the  people  on  the  part  of  the  local  Clergy ;  express- 
ing a  strong  opinion  that  if  any  real  work  of  reform.i 


SAINT  SULPICE  -AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  279 

tion  was  to  be  effected  in  the  Church,  it  must  be 
by  deepening  the  religious  life  of  the  priesthood, 
and  training  the  younger  members  thereof.  M.  du 
Ferrier  alleged  the  many  difficulties  which  were  looked 
upon  as  well-nigh  insurmountable,  but  the  vener- 
able Oratorian  dismissed  them  all,  only  requiring 
that  those  received  into  the  Seminaries  he  wished  to 
see  established  should  not  be  mere  boys,  but  young 
men,  with  character  so  sufficiently  formed  that  a  short 
time  might  give  evidence  as  to  their  vocation  and  the 
probable  good  result  of  training  them. 

De  Condren  was  still  talking  earnestly  when  his 
attendant  lay  brother  came  to  summon  him  to  say 
Mass.  He  bade  him  wait  At  eleven  Frere  Martin 
returned,  and  was  rather  urgent  with  his  superior. 
Du  Ferrier,  knowing  his  master's  usually  exact 
habits,  was  surprised  to  hear  him  say,  "Brother,  if 
you  knew  what  I  am  doing,  you  would  not  hurry 
me;  this  is  even  more  important  than  what  you 
want  of  me."  And  he  went  on  talking  till  mid- 
day, when  he  broke  off,  saying,  "  Poor  Frere  Martin, 
he  will  be  quite  vexed — we  will  leave  the  rest  till 
to-morrow  morning."  So  saying,  the  General  of  the 
Oratory  went  to  say  Mass,  and  M.  du  Ferrier  never 
saw  him  again.  The  next  morning  he  was  suffering 
from  such  acute  inflammation  of  the  lungs  that  he 
was  unable  to  speak,  and  during  the  week  for  which 


28c  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

his  life  was  prolonged,  anything  like  continued  con- 
versation was  impossible.  Du  Ferrier  of  course  com- 
municated all  that  had  passed  between  him  and  their 
venerated  director  to  the  other  priests  of  the  little 
Company;  and  foreseeing  that  there  would  be  no 
farther  opportunity  of  any  verbal  intercourse,  he  sent 
a  little  note  on  the  evening  of  Epiphany  (the  last 
night  of  Pere  de  Condren's  life),  entreating  that  if  God 
called  their  Father  to  Himself,  he  would  pray  that  his 
mind  and  lights  concerning  the  most  important  sub- 
ject might  be  inherited  by  some  one  amongst  them. 

Meanwhile  Pere  de  Condren's  last  hour  drew  near. 
In  his  intense  humility  he  wished  to  make  his 
last  general  confession  before  the  whole  community, 
and  this  being  refused  to  him,  he  begged  the  Father 
who  confessed  him  to  make  no  secret  of  his  sins,  and 
earnestly  entreated  every  one  to  forgive  his  short- 
comings and  failings.  There  was  a  great  stir  in  the 
religious  world  when  it  was  known  that  the  General 
of  the  Oratorians  lay  dying,  and  his  wayward  penitent, 
Gaston,  Duke  of  Orleans,  came,  in  real  sorrow  of  heart, 
to  the  bedside  of  his  venerable  director  to  hear  some 
few  parting  words  of  earnest  exhortation.  Pere  de 
Condren  accepted  all  remedies  patiently,  only  some- 
times he  said,  "  It  is  a  misfortune  to  be  a  Superior,  if 
more  is  to  be  done  for  him  than  for  others."  "  Pray 
that  God  will  this  day  convert  the  greatest  of  sinners," 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  281 

he  said  of  hitnself  to  the  Father  who  was  ministering 
to  him.  After  receiving  Extreme  Unction,  he  gave 
his  last  blessing  to  the  assembled  community  :  "  Veni 
Domine  Jesu,  et  vive  in  hisfamulis  Tuis  in  plenitudine 
virtutis  Tiuz,  et  dominare  adversce  potestati^  qui  vivis  ft 
regnas  in  secula  seculorum" 

He  was  constantly  making  acts  of  contrition  and 
hope,  through  the  pains  of  death,  which  were  severe. 
"Manus  Domini  tetigit  me/"1  he  exclaimed  shortly 
before  the  last.  Just  at  the  end,  when  sorely  over- 
whelmed with  a  bitterness  which  those  around  likened 
to  our  Lord's  last  Agony  on  the  Cross,  he  cried  out, 
"Domine,  propitiaberis peccato  meo,  multum  est  enim/"s 

Pere  de  Saint  Pe',  who  stood  by,  said,  "Father,  give 
yourself  up  to  God."  Whereupon,  with  a  clear  strong 
voice,  the  dying  man  replied,  "  My  God,  I  commit 
my  soul  into  Thy  Hands  ! "  and  so  saying  he  ex- 
pired, January  7,  1641. 

Du  Ferrier's  little  note  had  been  received  the  night 
before,  but  no  reply  was  sent,  or  indeed  expected. 
The  day  after  Pere  de  Condren's  burial,  however,  M. 
Meyster — one  of  the  small  band  he  was  training  for 
his  great  work — saw  him  in  a  vision,  and  received 
communications  as  to  that  work,  which  exactly  fitted 

*  "The  Hand  of  God  hath  touched  me."— Job  xix.  21. 
2  Vulgate,   Psa.   xxiv.   n,  English  version,  xxv.    10:    "For 
Thy  Name's  Sake,  Lord,  be  merciful  unto  my  sin;  for  it  is  great" 


282  PRIES 'TL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

in  with  those  already  given  to  du  Ferrier,  beginning 
in  fact  where  Pere  de  Condren's  spoken  instructions 
had  ended  j  and  M.  Olier  himself  was  likewise  per- 
mitted to  see  his  beloved  spiritual  Father  in  vision, 
who  repeated  our  Lord's  words,  "  Confidite,  ego  via 
mundum? 

At  the  time  of  Pere  de  Condren's  death,  M.  Olier 
was  still  suffering  under  the  spiritual  trials  already  men- 
tioned, and  this  fresh  grief  might  have  been  expected 
to  increase  his  misery,  but  he  accepted  it  with  the 
most  absolute  resignation,  as  may  be  seen  from  a 
letter  written  at  this  time  to  a  nun  in  one  of  the  com- 
munities he  had  reformed 

"  Of  a  truth,  my  dear  daughter,"  he  says,  "  if  we  are 
to  be  overwhelmed  at  every  change  and  chance,  we 
should  know  but  little  peace  in  this  world.  I  will  tell 
you  what  has  happened  to  me — my  father  and  master 
has  been  taken  from  me  by  the  Divine  Will,  which  is 
our  dearest  Master,  alike  in  giving  and  taking  away,  in 
dryness  or  in  the  sweetest  joys.  He  was  a  man  who 
helped  me  greatly  in  reaching  towards  God,  which  is 
what  I  crave  and  delight  in  most.  He  led  me  to  try 
and  be  useful  to  you,  and  recommended  your  House 
to  my  care.  He  has  taught  me  so  many  good  and 
holy  things  !  Well,  my  Sister,  but  is  not  God's  Will 
worth  as  much  to  me  as  even  this  holy  man,  who  had 
nothing  in  himself  save  through  that  Holy  Will? 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  283 

Cannot  He  make  up  for  all  that  He  takes  away  ?  and 
cannot  He  do  now  above  that  which  it  pleased  Him 
for  a  while  to  do  through  another  ?  My  very  dear 
daughter,  let  us  adore  the  Will  of  Jesus,  let  us  adore 
our  Dearest  Master ;  He  turns  the  thorniest  paths  to 
our  sanctification." 

It  was  not  till  late  in  that  same  year  that  M.  Olier 
was  gradually  delivered  from  his  spiritual  trials ;  by 
which  time  the  little  Community  had  moved  to 
Chartres,  where  they  hoped  to  begin  a  Seminary  for 
priests.  But  the  plan  entirely  failed  there,  and  the 
members  were  scattered  about,  and  differences  of 
opinion  and  plan — not  as  to  the  main  object,  but  as 
to  its  execution — threatened  to  extinguish  the  whole 
concern.  Just  as  they  were  in  this  doubtful  position, 
one  of  the  number,  M.  Picote',  went  to  Vaugirard,  on 
the  outskirts  of  Paris,  to  help  a  devout  lady,  a  former 
spiritual  child  of  Francis  de  Sales,  who  had  established 
a  Community  for  the  object  of  educating  the  peasant 
children  around.  Madame  de  Villeneuve,  like  other 
pious  people,  longed  for  better  things  among  the 
Clergy,  and  had  prayed  for  yeais  that  God  would 
prosper  the  work  of  Seminaries  ;  and  when  M.  Picotd 
told  her  of  the  failure  at  Chartres,  she  suggested  that 
perhaps  God  would  have  His  servants  try  to  establish 
the  work  at  Vaugirard  ?  At  first  M.  Picote  altogether 
put  aside  the  idea,  but  it  gradually  approved  itself  to 


284  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

his  mind,  enough  to  make  him  write  about  it  to  his 
brethren;  and  after  many  objections  raised  by  all, 
especially  by  M.  Olier,  it  pleased  God  to  make  the 
latter  (while  in  Retreat  expressly  with  the  object  of 
ascertaining  His  Will)  see  clearly  that  it  was  there 
God  would  have  them  go.  Accordingly,  a  very  small, 
poor  house  was  taken  in  the  village,  and  they  began 
their  new  life,  without  any  servant,  depending  upon 
Madame  de  Villeneuve,  who  used  to  send  them  some 
potage  and  bouilli  daily  for  their  dinner,  and  "  a  little 
roast  mutton  "  at  night  for  supper  as  their  only  food. 
They  put  themselves  under  the  direction  of  the 
Superior  of  the  Benedictines  of  Saint  Maur — a  very 
holy  man ;  and  M.  Olier  further  consulted  S.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  the  Pere  Saint  Jure,  Pere  Bataille,  a  Bene- 
dictine, and  other  persons  of  eminent  wisdom  and 
saintliness,  as  to  their  course.  M.  Bourdoise,  too, 
entered  with  great  ardour  into  their  plans.  "Oh, 
what  a  great  thing  it  would  be,"  he  wrote  to  them, 
"  if  we  could  find  even  three  priests  full  enough  of 
love  for  Christ's  Church  to  follow  the  leading  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit,  and  make  a  stand  against  the  world  and 
its  ways  !  three  priests  who,  when  they  are  shewn  what 
He  through  His  Church  has  ordered,  do  not  forthwith 
answer,  *  It  is  not  the  custom — we  do  not  so— what 
would  be  said? — it  is  inconvenient — the  world  would  be 
offended — people  would  laugh  at  us — let  us  be  content 


SAINT  SULP2CE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  285 

to  take  things  as  we  find  them,  and  not  set  up  to  be 
wiser  than  those  who  went  before  us  ! ' "  Nor  must 
Marie  Rousseau  be  overlooked.  This  woman,  in 
spite  of  her  humble  condition  in  life,  filled  a  very 
remarkable  position  among  the  more  devout  part  of 
society  at  that  time.  "  She  is  a  light  and  a  counsellor 
to  many  of  the  most  illustrious  as  well  as  the  holiest 
people  in  Paris,"  M.  Olier  wrote.  And  after  enu- 
merating princesses  and  duchesses,  the  Duchesse  of 
Orleans,  the  Princesse  de  Conde',  and  others,  he  adds, 
"And  apostolic  men  and  missionaries  are  glad  to 
learn  God's  Ways  from  her  mouth.  The  Pere  Eudes, 
the  greatest  preacher  of  our  day,  often  consults  her, 
and  so  did  Pbre  de  Condren.  She  has  been  the  coun- 
sellor of  M.  du  Coudray,  raised  up  of  God  for  our 
Eastern  Missions ; "  and  so  he  goes  on  with  a  long 
list  of  the  good  works  which  were  forwarded  by  Marie 
Rousseau's  prayers  and  counsels.  All  through  M. 
Olier's  troubles  she  had  never  questioned  for  a 
moment  but  that  they  were  trials  intended  to  lead  him 
to  greater  heights  of  grace,  and  now  she  urged  some 
of  those  who  had  taken  a  different  view  of  the  case  to 
come  to  Vaugirard,  and  see  what  he  was  doing.  All 
his  mental  gifts  had  returned,  his  preaching,  speak- 
ing, whatever  he  undertook,  was  admirably  done.  It 
chanced  that  the  Cure  of  Vaugirard  was  called  away, 
and  he  left  his  parish  in  charge  of  the  little  Company, 


286  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

who  worked  it  admirably.  Priests  began  to  flock  in — 
some  men  of  note,  such  as  M.  de  Bassancourt,  and  M. 
de  Gondrin,  who  in  two  years'  time  became  coadjutor 
of  Sens.  They  were  soon  twenty  in  number,  and  M. 
Olier  was  unanimously  chosen  as  Superior,  and  thus 
at  last  the  work  which  de  Condren  had  looked  upon 
as  his  "  principal  vocation  "  was  fairly  begun  in  spite 
of  difficulties  and  hindrances.  But  M.  Olier  was  not 
destined  to  remain  at  Vaugirard. 

The  frightful  condition  of  the  Faubourg  Saint 
Germain,  both  moral  and  spiritual,  has  been  already 
alluded  to,  as  also  the  Mission  held  there  by  the 
priests  of  the  Conference  de  Saint  Lazare ;  but  it  was 
an  illustration  of  what  all  these  holy  men — de  Beguile, 
de  Condren,  Vincent  de  Paul,  M.  Olier,  etc.  etc., 
had  ever  said, — that  no  Mission  can  have  more  than 
a  passing  influence,  where  there  is  not  a  steady  con- 
sistent work  kept  up  by  the  local  Clergy.  The  parish 
of  Saint  Sulpice — which  was  at  that  period  of  a  vast 
extent,  all  subject  to  the  jurisdiction,  both  civil  and 
ecclesiastical,  of  the  Abbe'  of  Saint  Germain — is 
described  by  all  who  speak  of  it  as  the  very  sink  of 
Paris,  for  its  utter  irreligion  and  immorality,  and  the 
Mission  seemed  to  the  Cur^  M.  de  Fiesque  merely 
to  have  stirred  up  and  brought  to  light  the  hopeless- 
ness of  the  evil.  In  utter  despair  he  determined  to 
resign  his  post,  and  knowing  M.  Olier,  and  seeing 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  287 

how  well  he  was  supported  by  his  company  of  priests, 
M.  de  Fiesque  urged  upon  him  to  undertake  the 
charge.  At  first  the  request  was  utterly  rejected,  but 
it  was  pressed  by  many  whose  opinion  had  great 
weight  with  M.  Olier,— S.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Pere 
Tarrisse,  M.  Bourdoise,  and  Marie  Rousseau  among 
others, — and  at  length  he  felt  himself  that  it  was  a 
call  from  God,  and  once  seeing  that,  he  undertook 
the  heavy  burden  cheerfully  and  gladly.  Three  points 
he  set  before  himself  as  his  work — the  instruction  and 
sanctification  of  the  people,  the  sanctification  of  the 
Clergy,  and  the  training  of  young  men  for  Holy 
Orders.  "I  feel  such  boundless  longings  for  the 
salvation  of  all  men,"  he  wrote,  "  and  to  infuse  the 
zeal  for  God's  Love  and  Glory  into  all  hearts ;  I  think 
what  it  would  be  to  send  forth  a  thousand  disciples  to 
carry  abroad  the  Love  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  do 
honour  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament  on  all  sides ; — and 
then  when  I  reflect  that  this  charge  offered  me  may 
set  all  this  forward,  I  am  overcome  with  happiness, 
and  I  desire  nothing  save  to  glorify  my  Master." 

M.  Olier's  family  took  a  different  view  of  the  matter. 
It  was  even  worse  than  his  rejection  of  the  Bishopric 
of  Chalons ;  they  looked  upon  his  taking  the  office  of 
an  obscure  parish  priest  as  a  degradation  to  their 
house,  and  his  mother  and  eldest  brother  came  to 
Vaugirard  and  used  every  means  in  their  power, 


288  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

coaxing  and  reviling  alternately,  to  dissuade  him  from 
the  step ;  and  finding  all  in  vain,  his  mother  refused 
to  see  him  again. 

M.  Olier  went  at  once  into  Retreat  as  a  preparation 
for  the  new  undertaking,  and  on  the  Assumption  1642 
he  and  his  fellow-workers  and  their  Seminary  took 
possession  of  Saint  Sulpice ;  the  King,  Cardinal 
Richelieu,  the  Princesse  de  Conde',  the  Duchesse 
d'Aiguillon,  and  numberless  other  great  personages, 
testifying  their  hearty  interest  in  the  work, — which 
must  have  tended  to  modify  Madame  Olier's  views  as 
to  the  loss  of  social  position  she  thought  her  son  was 
incurring.  Indeed,  these  great  ladies,  with  several 
others,  went  to  see  the  irate  mother,  and  strove  to 
appease  her  wounded  vanity  by  the  interest  they 
testified  in  her  son's  noble  work  for  the  Church. 

Saint  Sulpice  was  no  bed  of  roses.  M.  Olier  and 
his  Community  (which  ere  long  numbered  fifty  priests) 
devoted  themselves  not  only  to  the  active  work  of 
evangelizing  the  depraved  wilderness  which  the  parish 
presented,  but  they  also  studied  in  every  way  to  make 
their  own  lives  forward  that  work.  In  order  to  avert 
the  possibility  of  scandal,  no  women  were  allowed  to 
enter  the  Seminary; — all  funds  were  common,  each 
member  of  the  Community  receiving  food  and  raiment, 
but  no  one  appropriating  anything,  whether  revenue 
or  offerings,  to  himself.  "It  pertains  to  me,"  M. 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  289 

Olier  wrote,  "  to  receive  with  one  hand,  and  give  with 
the  other — to  afford  the  rich  an  opportunity  of  giving 
to  our  Dear  Lord  through  His  Members,  but  to  take 
nothing  from  the  parish  for  myself — appropriating  part 
of  that  which  comes  in  to  the  poor,  part  to  the  main- 
tenance of  superannuated  Clergy,  and  the  rest  to  the 
wants  of  the  Community."  Nothing  could  be  simpler 
than  the  fare  provided  for  these  last ;  nevertheless  M. 
Bourdoise  used  to  laugh  at  his  friend  for  accustoming 
men  who  were  intended  to  go  forth  as  poor  country 
curates  to  a  manner  of  living  far  more  plentiful  than  they 
would  hereafter  get  in  their  village  curacies.  M.  Olier 
wished  all  to  wear  the  plainest  dress  possible ;  his  own 
cassock  was  made  of  coarse  serge,  and  he  would  not 
have  any  of  their  surplices  trimmed  with  lace — a 
custom  which  has  prevailed  at  Saint  Sulpice  to  the 
present  day.  The  rules  of  the  house  were  simple ;  but 
M.  Olier  laid  great  stress  on  their  being  faithfully 
kept ;  and  without  absolute  necessity  no  one  was  to 
miss  keeping  the  Canonical  Hours,  or  the  morning 
meditation.  He  divided  the  huge  parish  into  eight 
districts,  over  each  of  which  a  priest  presided,  who  in 
his  turn  was  aided  by  ten  or  twelve  more,  working 
under  his  direction.  In  every  street  some  devout 
layman  was  to  assist  the  Clergy,  keep  a  list  of  the 
parishioners,  report  cases  of  sickness,  and  the  like. 
Those  who  were  dangerously  ill  were  to  be  visited 

T 


290  PRIES  TL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRA  NCR. 

daily,  and  others  less  seriously  sick  were  never  to  be 
left  more  than  two  days  without  care,  and  the  oppor- 
tunity used  for  giving  some  religious  help.  Certain 
priests  were  intrusted  with  the  administration  of  the 
sick,  others  were  to  attend  to  the  Sacraments  of 
Baptism  and  Matrimony,  giving  heed  that  no  one  was 
neglected  in  those  matters ; — others  were  always  ready 
to  hear  Confessions.  Every  day  after  the  principal 
meal,  all  difficulties  and  cases  of  conscience  were  laid 
before  the  Superior,  and  if  he  could  not  resolve  them, 
he  used  to  send  some  member  to  the  Sorbonne  to  ask 
counsel,  and  the  answer  was  made  known  in  the 
evening  after  supper.  Such  questions  were  con- 
tinually arising,  and  the  discussions  and  investigations 
consequent  upon  them  proved  a  most  valuable  part 
of  the  training  for  the  Community.  M.  Olier  shared 
in  everything  with  the  rest,  refusing  to  accept  any 
privileges  as  Superior,  save  those  of  harder  work  and 
more  anxiety  than  any  one  else ;  and  with  this  inten- 
tion he  took  a  vow  "to  serve  all  Christians01 — by 
which  he  devoted  his  time,  his  property,  himself, 
wholly  to  others ;  adding  to  this  yet  another  vow — 
"  In  all  things  to  seek  the  more  perfect  way." 

One  point  of  parochial  labour  to  which  M.  Olier 
devoted  special  attention  was  teaching  and  catechis- 
ing the  children,  whose  deplorable  ignorance  bade  fair 
1  "servitude  4  tous  les  Chretiens." 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  291 

to  produce  another  generation  of  no  better  morals 
than  their  parents.  He  also  arranged  classes  and 
instructions  for  domestic  servants,  a  much  neglected 
section  of  society;  besides  various  others  to  meet  the 
wants  of  all  ranks  and  ages ;  and  he  set  himself  to 
stem,  in  every  conceivable  way,  the  tide  of  profligacy 
which  ran  strong  on  all  sides — taking  urgent  measures 
among  the  rest  to  hinder  the  habit  of  duelling,  which 
was  carried  at  that  period  to  an  inconceivable  extent 
in  Paris. 

On  all  sides  the  great  work  of  Saint  Sulpice  was  a 
matter  of  discussion  and  admiration.  Statesmen  and 
Bishops  were  found  consulting  its  founder,  who  at  this 
time  was  only  thirty-four  years  of  age,  although  his 
wisdom  in  spiritual  things  led  men  of  double  his  years 
to  turn  to  him  for  counsel.  But  he  was  not  self-reliant, 
and  one  of  his  constant  objects  was  to  draw  other  men 
whom  he  knew  to  be  stronger  than  himself,  as  theolo- 
gians, controversialists,  or  preachers,  into  his  society, 
and  thus  to  strengthen  his  hands.  He  knew,  too,  how 
to  use  the  help  of  good  laymen ;  and  indeed  it  cannot 
but  strike  one  as  a  secret  of  M.  Oner's  success,  that 
he  was  so  quick  in  turning  whatever  came  to  hand  to 
good  account  For  instance,  finding  that  a  sale  of 
bad  books  and  charms  went  on  close  to  the  church 
doors,  he  lost  no  time  in  setting  up  a  rival  library  of 
good  books,  and  to  this  day  a  certain  bookseller  is 


292  PKIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

privileged  to  keep  his  bookstall  against  the  walls  of 
Saint  Sulpice,  though  whether  the  Clergy  still  superin- 
tend and  revise  its  contents  we  know  not. 

Again,  coming  suddenly  one  day  upon  a  large 
assembly  of  people  surrounding  a  juggler,  who  was 
carrying  on  sundry  unseemly  buffooneries,  the  Curd 
of  Saint  Sulpice  (whose  powers  of  preaching  were 
attractive,  if  not  specially  learned)  stationed  himself 
at  a  little  distance,  and  began  to  address  the  mob, 
who  soon  forsook  the  juggler  to  hearken,  and  before 
long,  fascinated  by  his  earnest  and  vigorous  words, 
the  whole  assemblage  was  gathered  round  him. 

A  Confraternity  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  tended 
greatly  to  promote  earnestness  and  devotion,  and  it  is 
a  characteristic  anecdote  of  the  times  and  persons,  that 
one  Thursday,  at  the  weekly  meeting  of  the  Confra- 
ternity, when  M.  Olier  was  rebuking  the  upper  classes 
for  their  irregularity  in  adoration  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, Charlotte  de  Montmorenci,  Princesse  de  Condd, 
stood  up  and  said  humbly,  "  Monsieur,  I  neglected  it 
on  Saturday,  for  I  went  to  see  the  Queen  instead;"1 
to  which  M.  Olier  replied,  "It  would  have  been  more 
to  your  credit,  Madame,  if  you  had  come  to  the 
Court  of  the  King  of  Kings." 

S.  Vincent  de  Paul's  Confrene  de  la  Charitd  had 

i  "  Monsieur,  j'y  ai  manque  samedi,  e'tant  alle*e  faire  ma  cour 
a  la  Reine."— Vie,  pt.  ii.  p.  194. 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  293 

once  begun  to  work  in  the  parish,  but  had  almost  died 
out  M.  Olier  re-established  it,  as  well  as  Sisters  of 
Charity,  to  minister  among  the  poor  and  sick. 

The  old  Church  soon  proved  much  too  small  for 
me  worshippers,  and  on  February  20,  1646,  the  Queen 
Mother,  Anne  of  Austria,  laid  the  first  stone  of  the 
new  Saint  Sulpice,  built  by  the  great  architect  of  his 
day,  Gamard ;  and  in  spite  of  all  the  troubles  of  the 
Fronde,  and  various  local  disturbances  raised  up  by 
the  more  profligate  part  of  the  parish,  who  found  their 
profits  hindered,  the  work  went  on  bravely.  It  would 
be  tedious  to  describe  in  detail  all  the  different  plans 
and  works  which  M.  Olier  set  on  foot  for  the  benefit 
of  his  large  parish,  some  of  which,  called  forth  by  the 
pressing  necessities  of  the  day,  in  consequence  of  the 
civil  wars  of  the  Fronde,  were  temporary  only.  It 
can  scarcely  be  a  matter  of  wonder  that  such  ceaseless 
and  anxious  labours  should  have  told  upon  any  man's 
health.  M.  Olier  had  always  believed  that  God  only 
intended  him  to  work  the  parish  of  Saint  Sulpice  for 
ten  years,  and  had  often  said  so  to  his  intimate 
associates.  One  day  early  in  the  year  1652,  one  oi 
these  remarked  to  him  that  it  was  almost  ten  years 
since  he  entered  the  parish,  and  that  there  was  no 
probability  either  that  he  would  or  could  leave  it  at 
present.  "All  that  will  be  as  it  pleases  God,"  was 
the  answer;  "we  have  only  to  leave  ourselves  and 


294  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

everything  wholly  to  Him,  without  any  thought  of  self, 
and  He  will  do  as  seems  best  to  Him." 

M.  Olier  knew  even  then  that  his  health  was  fail- 
ing— he  was  already  under  medical  treatment;  but 
the  one  most  needful  remedy — rest — he  was  not  taking. 
In  June,  however,  he  succumbed  to  a  severe  fever, 
and  on  the  2oth  of  the  month  the  doctors  declared 
that  he  could  not  live  twenty-four  hours.  On  being 
told  this,  M.  Olier  forthwith  signed  a  document  by 
which  he  resigned  his  cure  unconditionally  to  the 
Abbot  of  Saint  Germain,  who  (as  has  been  said 
already)  had  supreme  jurisdiction  over  it ;  and  he 
also  made  his  will.  This  time,  however,  it  pleased 
God  to  restore  his  health,  not  however  until  one  of 
his  fellow-labourers,  M.  de  Bretonvilliers,  had  been 
appointed  Curd  of  Saint  Sulpice. 

That  he  left  it  himself  without  any  vainglorious 
satisfaction  in  the  great  work  he  had  done  may  be 
gathered  from  a  circumstance  recorded  a  few  months 
later.  When  passing  through  Lyons,  M.  Olier  went  to 
the  Church  of  the  Feuillants,  and  having  taken  his  place 
in  the  first  vacant  confessional,  he  was  seen  to  make 
his  confession  with  such  tokens  of  visible  sorrow  and 
contrition,  in  the  shape  of  tears  and  sighs,  that  the 
lookers  on  supposed  him  to  be  some  specially  notorious 
sinner  graciously  moved  to  penitence  ! 

In  the  year  1645,  M.  Olier  had  begun  to  build  a 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  295 

college,  which  was  a  necessity  under  the  circumstance 
of  his  rapidly  increasing  community.  Various  troubles 
had  beset  him  in  the  process — among  others  a  violent 
e'meute  kindled  by  the  profligate  people  whose  trade 
he  had  so  greatly  destroyed.  It  is  a  curious  bit  of 
contemporary  history,  illustrative  of  the  times,  to  find 
a  body  of  three  hundred  of  the  notoriously  bad  women 
living  in  the  parish  going  first  to  the  Luxembourg, 
and  afterwards  to  the  House  of  Parliament  itself,  to 
protest  against  their  reformer !  They  were  altogether 
repulsed,  it  is  true  ;  but  M.  Olier  lived  through  stormy 
days  at  that  period,  and  for  long  he  was  obliged  to 
have  a  guard  of  soldiers  posted  in  the  Community 
house  to  keep  off  the  rabble.  The  Bishop  of  Rodez 
had  attempted  just  after  this  to  induce  M.  Olier  to  let 
him  resign  his  see  in  his,  M.  Oner's,  favour;  and,  as  on 
similar  occasions,  refusing  to  decide  for  himself,  M. 
Olier  had  referred  the  decision  to  his  Superior,  the 
Abbot  of  Saint  Germain,  who,  though  originally 
opposed  to  the  Seminary,  now  came  entirely  round, 
and  entreated  its  founder  to  persevere.  The  Seminary 
was  officially  confirmed  as  an  ecclesiastical  community 
hi  October  1645,  and  this  new  building  was  entrusted 
to  Jacques  le  Mercier,  architect  of  the  Palais  Royal 
and  of  part  of  the  Louvre ; — the  chapel  was  painted 
by  le  Brun.  The  keynote  to  the  whole  inner  fabric 
was  "  Now  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  hi  me;" 


296  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

and  in  harmony  with  this,  the  Hidden  Life  of  Our 
Lord  was  made  the  special  object  of  a  weekly  minor 
as  of  a  yearly  great  festival.  "  If  you  can  arouse  the 
hidden  life  in  our  priests,"  M.  Olier  was  wont  to  say, 
"  we  shall  do;"  and  he  continually  quoted  S.  Ambrose: 
**  Omnia  Christus  est  nobis,  signaculum  in  fronte,  ut 
semper  confiteamur :  signaculum  in  corde,  ut  semper 
diligamus :  signaculum  inbrachio,  ut  semper  operemur" 
"  PER  Christum,  CUM  Christo,  IN  Christo." 

Some  of  the  members  wanted  to  put  the  inscription 
"  Collegium  Apostolicum  "  over  the  entrance,  but  M. 
Olier  observed  that  if  they  put  anything  it  ought  only 
to  be  "Seminaire  de  Saint  Sulpice,"  the  name  by 
which  the  work  was  known.  "  But,"  he  added,  "  I 
would  rather  put  nothing,  and  let  the  institution  be 
known  more  by  its  results  than  by  its  name.  I  would 
ask  our  Lord  to  let  the  thing  speak  for  itself,  and  that 
our  disciples  may  be  known  by  their  manner  of  life, 
by  their  conversation,  and  their  work  for  love  of  God 
and  of  His  Church,  so  that  it  may  be  fitly  said  of  our 
House,  *  Nomen  habet  quod  vivat' " 

Once  a  year  he  appointed  a  day  on  which  all  the 
Community  publicly  renewed  their  ecclesiastical  vows, 
some  Bishop,  if  possible,  presiding  at  the  ceremony. 
Out  of  affection  for  the  memory  of  la  Mere  Agnes,  to 
whom  M.  Olier  always  considered  that  he  owed  his 
vocation,  he  asked  to  be  admitted  into  the  Third 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  297 

Order  of  Dominicans,  which  was  gladly  granted  him 
shortly  before  he  resigned  the  parochial  charge  of 
Saint  Sulpice. 

From  that  time  all  his  time  and  thoughts  were  given 
to  the  work  which  had  so  long  been  foremost  in  his 
heart — training  the  Clergy;  and  his  success  was  as- 
suredly great.  As  the  Bishop  of  Nevers  remarked: 
"  The  external  building  is  fine,  but  the  inward  build- 
ing up  of  ecclesiastical  life  is  far  finer,  and  instead  of 
saying  with  the  Apostle,  '  Behold  what  manner  of 
stones  are  here!'  we  might  well  exclaim,  'Behold 
what  manner  of  men  are  here !'  Freedom  from  world- 
liness,  fraternal  charity,  lowliness  and  readiness  for  the 
humblest  occupations,  obedience  and  punctuality,  are 
among  the  special  characteristics  of  the  Saint  Sul- 
piciens,  as  mentioned  by  contemporary  writers.  M. 
Olier's  personal  influence  with  the  Se'minaristes  must 
have  been  great.  Many  who  came  thinking  themselves 
nearly  ready  for  ordination,  learnt  to  take  a  higher, 
truer  view  of  the  priesthood,  and  required  to  be  urged 
and  encouraged  to  proceed  when  the  time  came.  Not 
all  the  students  were  young  men.  A  certain  M.  de 
Seve,  formerly  President  aux  enqu&es  to  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Paris,  came  at  sixty  to  be  trained,  and  seems  to 
have  been  mortified  at  being  kept  back  from  Holy 
Orders  longer  than  he  expected,  in  spite  of  his  persever- 
ing exertions  to  prepare.  A  letter  from  M.  Olier, 


298  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

written  with  a  view  to  console  this  worthy  man,  con- 
cludes thus : — "  Humble  yourself  utterly  before  God, 
be  patient,  and  listen  quietly  to  your  Master's  Voice, 
saying  to  you  as  to  His  disciples,  '  In  your  patience 
possess  ye  your  souls.'  He  will  speak  soon,  but  wait 
till  He  does ;  and  from  the  bottom  of  your  heart — 
which  knows  how  far  you  are  from  the  perfection  of 
those  Orders  to  which  you  aspire — tremble  lest  you 
approach  them  before  He  sees  you  confirmed  in  His 
Ways.  All  the  future  blessing  and  well-being  of  your 
life  depends  upon  the  spirit  in  which  you  go  up  for 
Ordination,  and  your  obedience  to  your  Divine  Mas- 
ter's Law.  He  does  not  accept  the  service  of  any  one 
who  thrusts  himself  forward,  who  does  not  wait  His 
Call  reverently,  humbly,  and  patiently." 

One  is  glad  to  learn  that  M.  de  Seve  in  due  time 
obtained  his  object  and  proved  a  valuable,  earnest 
priest. 

M.  Olier  pressed  the  importance  of  study  with  great 
urgency  on  his  disciples,  especially  such  as  imme- 
diately concerned  their  office.  "  In  the  Confessional," 
he  said,  "  you  are  called  upon  suddenly,  and  without 
time  for  consultation  or  reference,  to  give  decisions 
on  the  most  important  of  questions,  decisions  against 
which  there  is  no  appeal,  and  which  will  influence 
your  fellow-men  through  all  eternity.  In  the  pulpit 
you  have  to  deal  alike  with  the  learned  and  the 


SAINT  SULP1CE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  299 

ignorant,  to  maintain  Gospel  truth,  to  combat  against 
vice,  to  resist  the  force  of  public  opinion,  to  refute 
and  expose  heresy,  so  that  the  simplest  can  understand 
you;  all  of  which  necessarily  requires  a  more  than 
ordinary  amount  of  knowledge — deeper  and  fuller 
than  that  men  commonly  acquire — of  a  stronger,  more 
practical  character."  Day  by  day  more  men  flocked 
in  to  obtain  such  teaching,  and  before  long  Seminaries 
were  started  on  all  sides,  all  of  which  M.  Olier  was 
glad  to  promote  by  sending  members  of  his  Society  to 
start  them,  though  he  did  not  wish  to  take  them  per- 
manently into  the  hands  of  that  Society.  He  always 
maintained  that  Saint  Sulpice  could  do  more  good  by 
training  priests  who  should  return  to  their  own  dio- 
ceses, and  themselves  found  and  govern  similar  insti- 
tutions. Wherever  he  went,  he  was  beset  with 
requests  on  behalf  of  Bishops  or  towns  wanting  to 
train  Clergy,  and  Seminaries  at  Rodez,  Limoges, 
Nantes,  Aix,  and  many  more,  soon  arose. 

On  two  or  three  different  occasions,  after  resigning 
his  parochial  charge,  the  missionary  spirit  rose  so 
strongly  in  M.  Olier,  that  in  spite  of  his  failing  health 
he  would  fain  have  gone  to  China  with  Pere  de 
Rhodes,  who  however,  believing  that  the  Founder  of 
Saint  Sulpice  was  in  his  right  place,  declined  to  take 
him,  a  refusal  which  M.  Olier  attributed  to  his  own  un- 
worthiness.  He  was  offered  the  Bishopric  of  Babylon, 


300  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

tvith  a  view  to  the  Persian  Missions,  but  the  Saint 
Sulpiciens  unanimously  declared  that  he  must  not 
leave  them.  The  final  vesult  of  all  this  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Se'minaire  des  Missions  Etrangeres. 
M.  Olier  was  also  actively  concerned  in  North 
American  Missions,  and  a  great  promoter  of  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  French  colonists. 

This  active  life,  spent  so  entirely  in  his  Master's 
service,  was  however  fast  drawing  to  a  close.  M. 
Olier  had  never  been  really  well  since  the  illness 
which  immediately  led  to  the  resignation  of  his 
parochial  charge,  and  one  malady  after  another  laid 
hold  of  him  with  unrelenting  tenacity.  His  doctors 
sent  him  to  various  places  for  change  of  air,  or  mineral 
waters,  but  a  stroke  of  paralysis  came,  and  deprived 
him  of  the  use  of  his  left  side.  This  occurred  at 
Peray,  near  Corbeil.  He  was  removed  as  soon  as  it 
'was  practicable  to  Paris,  and  during  the  long  illness 
that  ensued,  his  remarkable  cheerfulness  and  calmness 
impressed  S.  Vincent  de  Paul  so  strongly  that  he  could 
not  refrain  from  commenting  on  it  to  those  who 
watched  over  the  sick  man.  Yet  some  portion  of  the 
spiritual  trials  which  had  so  harassed  him  formerly 
came  again  upon  M.  Olier,  with  this  remarkable 
feature  however,  that  now,  even  when  most  dry  and 
powerless,  as  it  seemed,  he  was  always  completely  like 
his  former  self,  overflowing  with  rich  spiritual  and 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  301 

mental  stores  when  any  one  came  to  consult  him.  Some 
one  noticed  this  to  him,  and  the  answer  given,  with  a 
smile,  was — that  he  seemed  now  to  have  two  heads, 
one  his  own,  which  was  in  a  sorry  state — the  other 
one  provided  by  God  for  his  neighbour's  service.  The 
Queen  came  to  see  him,  and  after  his  departure  one 
of  his  attendant  priests,  who  feared  that  he  was  no 
longer  equal  to  the  occasion,  asked  something  con- 
cerning the  interview?  "God  gave  me  some  little 
matters  to  satisfy  her  with,"  was  the  answer. 

Frequently  M.  Olier  could  neither  read  nor  meditate, 
nor  do  anything  to  lighten  the  wearisomeness  of  his 
confinement,  and  just  then  it  was  that  interior  dryness 
would  press  heaviest.  But  he  would  only  say,  "  Our 
Dear  Lord  will  not  have  me  find  pleasure  in  anything. 
I  must  be  satisfied,  and  submit  willingly  to  His  com- 
mands." It  is  touching  to  hear  of  his  delight  in  a 
little  tame  bird,  which  would  sit  on  his  table  and  pick 
up  crumbs,  but  one  day  the  window  was  left  care- 
lessly open,  and  the  bird  flew  away  ! 

The  doctors  wished  him  to  take  the  Eaux  de  Bour- 
bon, and  though  not  expecting  any  benefit  himself,  he 
obeyed,  travelling  thither  by  slow  stages.  There  was 
some  difficulty  in  arranging  the  journey  so  as  to  rest 
in  hotels  near  to  a  church,  and  it  was  suggested  that 
during  the  journey  he  should  abstain  from  receiving 
Holy  Communion.  "  Nay,"  the  sick  man  exclaimed, 


302  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

"  take  what  else  you  will  away,  but  leave  me  that,  the 
one  only  comfort  I  have." 

M.  Olier  felt  that  his  end  was  at  hand;  and  he 
wished  once  more  to  visit  Notre  Dame  du  Puy,  and 
Langeac,  where  his  still  well-loved  friend  the  Mere 
Agnes  rested.  At  the  latter  place  he  said,  smiling,  to 
the  Prioress,  pointing  to  the  stick  by  help  of  which  he 
walked  painfully :  "  You  see  what  I  am  brought  to, 
ma  mere ;  it  is  all  thanks  to  la  Mere  Agnes  /"  meaning 
that  she  had  foretold  the  many  crosses  which,  in  God's 
mercy  and  love,  were  to  lead  him  heavenwards. 

As  death  drew  nearer  those  around  were  struck 
with  his  increasing  delight  in  dwelling  on  the  Re- 
surrection, a  mystery  which  had  always  had  a  peculiar 
attraction  for  him.  He  asked  for  a  picture  represent- 
ing it,  and  feeble  as  he  was,  one  day  he  remained  for 
an  hour  on  his  knees  before  this  picture.  His  nurse 
remonstrated  at  length,  and  was  permitted  to  lift  him 
back  to  his  arm-chair ;  but  M.  Olier  exclaimed,  "  Who 
could  ever  grow  weary  while  thinking  of  that  mystery!" 
From  time  to  time  he  was  heard  murmuring  to  him- 
self, "  Ah,  sweet  Eternity, — not  far  off  now  !  "  He  re- 
frained from  talking  much  of  his  coming  death,  seeing 
that  it  distressed  his  brethren,  but  on  Ash-Wednesday 
1657,  he  said  to  M.  de  Breton villiers,  "Let  us  make 
ready,  for  we  shall  soon  have  to  part  Easter  will 
bring  the  parting."  He  then  named  M.  de  Breton- 


SAINT  SULPICE  AND  JEAN  JACQUES  OLIER.  303 

villiers  as  his  successor,  and  henceforward  daily  con- 
ferred at  length  with  him  concerning  the  working  of 
their  Seminaries.  To  the  last  he  continued  such 
ministrations  as  he  was  able  to  perform.  A  lady  of 
high  rank,  long  his  penitent,  asked  him  to  fix  the  time 
most  convenient  to  himself  for  hearing  her  confession. 
"It  must  be  before  Easter,"  he  replied;  and  it  was 
observed  that  as  another  person  for  whom  he  had 
a  great  regard  left  his  room,  he  gave  her  his  blessing 
unperceived  by  her.  On  Monday  in  Holy  Week, 
March  26th,  he  had  another  slight  stroke,  without 
losing  his  consciousness,  but  henceforth  he  ceased  to 
notice  anything  save  that  which  had  reference  to  God. 
On  Easter  Eve  some  one  asked  M.  Olier  to  remember 
him  when  he  entered  upon  the  blessedness  of  the 
Saints,  using  some  expressions  of  praise  which  roused 
the  patient's  humility.  "  You  grieve  me  very  much," 
he  said  earnestly.  During  Easter  Day  he  had  frequent 
attacks  of  unconsciousness,  and  the  power  of  speech 
was  entirely  gone,  but  at  intervals  he  was  able  to  make 
signs  of  affection  to  his  friends,  and  his  countenance 
was  beautifully  calm.  On  Easter  Monday,  S.  Vincent 
de  Paul  came  to  see  him  as  usual,  and  remained 
beside  his  seemingly  unconscious  friend  until  he 
drew  his  last  breath  towards  the  evening.  This  was 
April  2,  1657. 

The  great  work  of  revival  among  the  Clergy  in 


304  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

France  had  now  reached  its  climax,  and  if  the  more 
conspicuous  share  rests  with  the  Lazarists  and  the 
Saint  Sulpiciens,  in  whose  hands  the  small  seed  grew 
to  a  mighty  tree,  we  cannot  forget  that  the  seed  itself 
was  planted  and  watered  by  their  brethren,  the  Ora- 
torians,  and  especially  by  their  faithful  friends,  Pierre 
de  Be'rulle  and  Charles  de  Condren.  It  was  a 
favourite  maxim  of  the  latter  that  "  a  man  should 
only  love  his  own  Congregation  relatively  to  the  whole 
body  of  the  Church ; "  i.e.  that  no  narrow  party  spirit 
savouring  of  "  I  am  of  Paul,  and  I  of  Apollos,"  should 
mar  the  breadth  which  says  of  all,  "  I  am  of  Christ." 
Oratorians,  Lazarists,  and  Seminarists  all  alike  sought 
one  end — the  Glory  of  God ;  all  combined,  each  after 
his  own  gift,  to  set  it  forth.  Surely  all,  drawing  round 
the  Great  White  Throne  hereafter,  with  the  countless 
souls  their  loving  labour  has  gathered  in,  will  join  ID 
the  same  song  of  triumph,  "  Salvation  is  of  our  God 
Which  ?itteth  upon  the  Throne,  and  of  the  Lamb  ! " 


PRESENT  TIMES.  305 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PRESENT   TIMES. 

THE  Congregation  of  the  Oratory  was  dispersed 
like  others  in  the  Great  Revolution,  and  it  was 
not  till  1852  that,  after  much  consideration  and  many 
prayers,  a  few  earnest  priests  joined  together  to  renew 
the  work  which  their  predecessors  had  begun,  and 
which  brought  them  the  heritage  of  so  many  great 
names.  They  came  forward  to  devote  themselves  to 
Christ's  service,  taking  as  their  watchword,  that  their 
aim  was  to  be  the  universal  good  of  the  church, 
"  Avoir  un  esprit  universel  de  rEglise  et  non  limiti? 
Speaking  of  the  way  in  which  this  aim  is  to  be  carried 
out,  a  living  Oratorian  says :  "  How  great  to  the  eye 
of  faith,  though  oft  hidden  to  human  sight,  is  the 
mission  of  the  shepherds  of  souls  !  But,  at  the  same 
time,  how  awful  their  responsibility  !  What  countless 
difficulties  thwart  their  ministry,  what  need  they  have 
to  be  aided  and  upheld,  lest  they  sink  disheartened 
by  the  isolation  in  which  they  too  often  find  them- 
selves, beneath  the  unceasing  struggles  which  they 
u 


306  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

must  never  dare  to  relax  1  And  what  a  sacred  duty, 
to  a  body  of  priests  who  are  really  animated  by  the 
Spirit  of  Christ,  to  go  forth  and  lighten  the  burden  of 
such  faithful  labourers,  and  help  them  to  reap  a  more 
abundant  harvest  for  the  Lord !  Now  this  is  precisely 
what  the  Oratory  intends  to  do.  Its  constitution  is 
altogether  sacerdotal,  its  members  are  subject  in  all 
things  to  episcopal  jurisdiction,  just  as  the  parochial 
clergy  are,  and  their  services  can  be  called  for 
wherever  they  are  wanted ;  either  in  preliminary  edu- 
cation preparing  lads  for  the  clerical  life,  or  in  the 
higher  seminaries,  training  the  future  ministers  of  our 
altars  more  directly  for  their  sacred  calling;  or  later  on, 
coming  to  the  assistance  of  their  former  pupils  either 
in  parochial  work,  if  called  to  such  by  the  bishops,  or 
in  giving  Retreats.  The  houses  of  the  Oratory  are 
ever  open  to  priests  who  want  a  few  days  of  retire- 
ment and  recollection  to  renew  their  strength ;  in  a 
word,  the  Oratorian  is  in  constant  contact  with  his 
brethren  of  the  parochial  clergy,  helping  those  to 
whom  God  has  given  a  desire  for  so  much  of  the 
Community  life  as  their  circumstances  will  allow,  by 
means  of  spiritual  exercises,  prayers,  conferences,  etc., 
which  are  all  means  01  counteracting  that  fatal  isola- 
tion which  too  often  depresses  and  exhausts  the  most 
energetic  spirits  among  us."  * 

1  P.  A.  Perraud,  Esprit  du  nouvel  Oratoire,  p.  392. 


PRESENT  TIMES.  307 

How  keenly  Pere  Gratry,  that  saintly  Oratorian 
who  has  but  so  recently  passed  from  among  us,  felt 
that  this  isolation  was  a  great  flaw  in  the  organisation 
of  the  Clergy  of  to-day,  he  has  told  us  forcibly  in  his 
life  of  Henri  Perreyve. 

"  Surely,"  he  says,  "  were  such  centres  of  intellec- 
tual and  moral  association  more  numerous,  under  the 
blessing  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  they  would  do  much 
towards  the  advancement  of  the  priestly  calling. 
How  many  brave  men,  crushed  and  saddened  by 
their  isolated  positions,  would  find  fresh  strength  in 
such  a  point  cfappui  for  their  toil  Might  not  such 
associations  furnish  strength,  and  mutual  kindling  of 
love  to  God  and  man,  for  the  effecting  of  those  mighty 
enterprises  of  zeal,  love,  and  science  of  which  we 
stand  so  sorely  in  need  ?  Think  what  an  enormous 
power  is  wielded  by  industrial  association !  How 
much  more  might  intellectual  association  for  moral 
and  religious  work  effect !  Would  not  such  united 
efforts  have  power  to  overstep  the  moral  and  religious 
differences  which  sever  the  East,  Africa,  and  Asia 
from  our  Western  centres  of  civilisation  ?  and  might 
we  not  thereby  look  to  see  the  harmony  of  the 
intellectual  and  religious  world  established  for  which 
we  all  so  greatly  yearn?  Might  not  peace  be  re- 
stored thereby  to  the  human  mind,  peace  to  the 
nations  of  the  world?  On  all  sides  we  find  the 


308  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

workmen  of  Europe  struggling  to  organise  a  free 
association  among  themselves,  and  when  the  day 
comes  that  God's  labourers  do  the  like,  we  shall 
see  among  them  those  great  works  which  S.  Ber- 
nard prophesied,  "  firmissima  vi  rectitudinis  consis- 
tent!"1 

There  is  a  great  deal  said  at  the  present  time 
about  the  education  of  the  Clergy.  It  is  felt  on  all 
sides  that  while  doubtless  we  need  that  our  priesthood 
should  be  supplied  from  all  classes,  and  that  it  should 
no  longer  be  treated  as  a  respectable  way  of  providing 
for  younger  sons  whose  abilities  are  scarcely  sufficient 
to  get  on  in  other  professions,  still  that  the  men  who 
are  to  come  forward  as  teachers  of  Christ's  flock 
must  learn  diligently  themselves.  Ignorance,  theo- 
logical or  general,  cannot  hold  its  own  against  the 
tide  of  unbelief  and  rationalising  inquiry  which  floods 
the  world.  In  1662  Bossuet  wrote  :  "Preparation  for 
the  priesthood  is  not,  as  some  men  seem  to  think,  a 
matter  of  some  brief  study,  it  is  rather  a  life-long 
education — it  is  not  a  sudden  effort  to  withdraw  from 
evil,  but  a  confirmed  habit  of  abstinence  therefrom ; 
not  a  temporary  fervour,  but  a  devotion,  rooted  and 
established  by  long  practice.  Saint  Gregory  of 
Nazianzen  used  the  striking  expression  concerning 
S.  Basil,  that  'he  was  a  priest  before  entering  the 
1  Henri  Perreyve,  p.  85. 


PRESENT  TIMES.  309 

priesthood;'  meaning  that  he  had  learnt  its  graces 
before  receiving  its  Order." * 

And  Mgr.  Dupanloup  wrote  in  1850:  "To  bear 
the  weight  of  the  priesthood,  that  is  to  say  to  devote 
himself  for  his  whole  life,  a  man  must  either  be  born 
great,  or  become  great : — a  vulgar  heart,  a  feeble  char- 
acter, a  grovelling  mind,  an  imperfect  education,  will 
not  come  up  to  the  mark.  In  this  day  our  people  require 
something  more  of  their  Clergy,  and  they  are  right" 

Our  times  are  not  given  to  unquestioning  acquies- 
cence in  mere  assertion.  Everything,  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest  subjects  of  faith,  history,  discipline,  is  a 
matter  of  discussion,  criticism,  and  argument.  Men 
do  not  receive  truth  as  such  simply  because  it  is  put 
before  them  by  authority,  and  the  most  remote 
country  curate  is  liable  to  be  called  on  to  give  an 
answer  for  the  hope  that  is  in  him,  and  to  explain  the 
grounds  on  which  he  teaches  dogma  to  his  people. 
Consequently,  if  they  mean  to  serve  God  to  their 
utmost,  His  priests  must  be  prepared  to  meet  the 
world  and  its  arguments  with  well  read,  thoughtful, 
disciplined  minds. 

"We  are  passing  through  a  period  which  is  torn 
asunder  in  every  direction  by  the  most  turbulent 
passions,"  says  P.  Adolphe  Perraud.3  "There  was 

1  CEuvres,  edit.  Lachat,  vol.  xii.  p.  645. 
a  Oratoire  de  France,  p.  4161 


310  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

a  time  when  the  priest's  position  and  influence  in 
society  were  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  now 
everything  is  subjected  to  doubt  and  criticism,  above 
all,  whatever  concerns  the  rights,  teaching,  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Church.  The  humblest  parish  priest 
must  expect  to  encounter  self-elected  esprits  forts,  and 
many  on  all  sides  reject  the  authority  of  his  ministry. 
Men  have  been  told  too  often  that  they  have  no 
superiors — that  all  are  equals,  and  they  will  not 
accept  the  superiority  of  the  sanctuary  any  more  than 
that  of  heraldry  or  position. 

"  If  then,  recognising  this  fact,  and  in  spite  of  pre- 
judice and  estrangement,  we  yet  would  fain  do  good 
among  men,  and  set  forward  the  salvation  of  souls,  it 
is  obvious  that  we  must  seek  elsewhere  that  authori- 
tative prestige  without  which  our  words  will  be  fruit- 
less, our  ministry  ineffective.  There  may  have  been 
passing  seasons  of  perversion  and  failure,  but  as  a 
whole  the  Church  has  assuredly  ever  striven  to  be  all 
things  to  all  men,  that  she  may  win  them  to  Christ. 
She  has  found  the  way  of  adapting  herself  to  every 

need But  at  the  present  time,  fresh  from  the 

storm  of  revolution  which  casts  men  upon  an  unknown 
future,  without  guide  or  restraint,  is  it  not  evident  that 
the  Priesthood  has  new  duties  to  fulfil,  and  that  the 
necessity  of  the  actual  moment  imposes  a  higher 
standard  of  duty  than  before  on  all  priests  who  are 
worthy  of  the  name  ? 


PRESENT  TIMES.  311 

"Everywhere,  always,  under  all  conditions,  the  priest 
must  be  a  man  of  prayer  and  self-sacrifice.  He  is 
called  to  be  a  living  commentary  on  the  Gospel  before 
the  eyes  of  all  men,  and  the  Gospel  sets  before  all  eyes 
wisdom  and  justice  only.  The  primary  duties  of  the 
Priesthood  are  fixed,  independent  of  all  the  changes 
and  chances  of  social  revolutions.  And  therefore  the 
groundwork  of  all  clerical  education  lies  in  Holy 
Scripture  and  the  earliest  tradition.  .  The  first  laws  of 
our  apostolic  ministry  have  not  changed  since  the  time 
when  Andrew  and  Peter,  James  and  John,  left  their 
nets  to  become  fishers  of  men ;  and  we  still  seek  the 
first  rules  of  ecclesiastical  perfection  among  those 
primitive  Fathers  and  first  Councils,  which  breathe 
the  very  purest  and  healthiest  spirit  of  Christianity. 

"  But  if,  above  all  and  before  all,  the  priest  is  called 
upon  to  be  a  man  of  Eternity,  as  God's  representative, 
he  must  most  assuredly  also  be  a  man  of  Time,  seeing 
that  his  mission  is  to  heal  and  enlighten  the  men  of 
his  own  day.  If  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  become 
Incarnate  in  the  present  day,  or  if  He  had  selected 
any  other  country  rather  than  Judea  for  the  scene  of 
His  Incarnation,  He  would — we  cannot  doubt  it — 
have  adopted  the  garb  and  spoken  the  language  of  the 
people  among  whom  He  manifested  Himself.  Even 
so,  if  we  would  be  understood  by  our  contemporaries, 
and  cany  the  words  of  everlasting  life  to  their  hearts, 


312  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

we  must  learn  to  speak  their  language.  They  have 
shaken  off  the  old  tie  of  a  privileged  class,  and  they 
will  only  vouchsafe  to  negotiate  the  weighty  matter  of 
salvation  with  us  on  the  basis  of  a  common  right. 
They  no  longer  seek  us  out ;  but  are  we  acting  up  to 
our  standard  as  the  priests  of  Jesus  Christ  if  we  refuse 
to  go  to  them,  to  accept  the  existing  state  of  things, 
and  thus  to  purchase  our  right  to  minister  to  troubled 
minds  and  to  aching  hearts  ? 

"  But  this  keen  appreciation  of  the  times  we  live  in, 
this  delicate  capacity  for  being  all  things  to  all  men 
without  ever  ceasing  to  be  one's-self,  i.e.  God's  Priest; 
this  minute  knowledge  of  the  passions,  the  errors,  the 
intellectual  and  moral  evils  of  the  day, — all  these  are 
indispensable  elements  of  modern  ecclesiastical  educa- 
tion, without  which  our  ministry  will  fail  to  retain  its 
hold  over  the  faithful,  or  to  win  back  the  wandering 
sheep.  Our  soldiers  are  being  armed  with  new 
weapons,  and  new  machinery  is  adapted  to  the  novel 
practices  of  modern  war  and  modern  tactics ;  and  in 
like  manner  God's  servants  must  be  furnished  with 
fitting  arms  for  the  novel  warfare  they  have  to  en- 
counter, if  they  are  to  contend  successfully  against  the 
passions  and  weaknesses  of  the  day.  Our  rising  gene- 
ration of  priests  must  not  be  content  only  to  seek  a 
spirit  of  prayer,  a  habit  of  self-denial,  or  pure  single- 
minded  faith  ;  they  must  seek  also  the  keenest  appre- 


PRESENT  TIMES.  313 

hension  of  the  special  needs  of  our  times.  If  ever 
there  was  cause  to  warn  our  younger  brethren  against 
that  fatal  delusion  of  indolence  or  inexperience,  which 
represents  the  ministry  as  a  peaceful  office  in  which  a 
man  may  lead  a  tranquil,  easy  life,  there  is  such  cause 
now.  .  .  . 

"  The  priest  of  this  day  is  often  cast  amid  a  popu- 
lation hostile  to  his  teaching,  mistrustful  of  his  inten- 
tions, merciless  to  his  weaknesses,  incapable  of  being 
won  otherwise  than  by  the  genuine  ascendancy  of  his 
own  character,  combined  with  indefatigable  devotion 
and  the  tenderest  charity.  We  must  expect  daily, 
hourly  contests — we  must  always  be  able  to  prove  our 
right  to  be  believed  or  even  tolerated — we  must  give 
no  loophole  for  blame,  whether  in  the  pulpit  or  the 
confessional,  in  our  daily  intercourse  with  the  sick 
and  poor,  in  our  dealings  with  science  and  intellect, — 
down  to  the  most  trifling  details  of  external  conduct 
and  manners.  Sceptical  as  the  age  is  concerning  our 
dogmas,  it  is  unflinching  in  its  judgment  as  to  all  that 
concerns  the  virtue  or  dignity  of  a  priest ;  it  will  not 
rest  satisfied  with  commonplace  decency  in  him.  With 
a  rigid  severity  which  might  indicate  a  hidden  instinct 
of  that  faith  he  has  forsaken  in  practice,  the  worldly 
man  will  not  tolerate  common  worldliness  among 
priests.  He  is  not  content  with  the  low  secular  stan- 
dard on  their  behalf;  one  might  almost  say  that  in 


314  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

proportion  as  he  rejects  the  supernatural  character  of 
the  priestly  mission,  so  he  seems  jealous  of  the  priest's 
personal  dignity  of  life.  We  may  indeed  say  with 
Mgr.  d'Orldans,  that  '  vulgar  hearts,  feeble  characters, 
grovelling  minds,  imperfect  education,'  will  not  suffice 
for  the  task  which  in  the  existing  state  of  things  is  laid 
upon  the  Clergy,  and  that  he  who  would  meet  it 
thoroughly  needs  to  be  either  '  born  great  or  become 
great"1  ' 

Surely  it  behoves  those  who  are  charged  with  the 
education  of  the  Clergy  to  form  and  cultivate  this 
greatness  of  mind  in  those  men  who  are  preparing  for 
the  priesthood.  They  must  teach  our  young  men  to 
aim  at  tenfold  courage,  a  tenfold  spirit  of  faith  and 
sacrifice ;  to  be  real  apostolic  teachers,  humble,  chari- 
table, ever  ready  to  devote  themselves  to  God's  Work ; 
but  meanwhile  they  must  learn  to  understand  and  see 
that  social  system  amid  which  they  will  have  to  work 
in  its  true  colours;  they  must  become  acquainted 
with  its  dangers  as  well  as  its  advantages  ;  its  weak  as 
well  as  its  strong  side,  so  as  to  learn  how  to  make  a 
good  use  of  the  one,  without  being  disheartened  by 
the  other;  in  short,  the  very  difficulties  of  the  age 
must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  so  as  to  form  useful 
servants  of  the  Church,  intelligent  fellow-workmen 
of  Him  Who  is  the  Unchanging  King  of  every  age. 

Men  must  realize  that  though  the  groundwork  of 


PRESENT  TIMES.  315 


their  ministerial  labour  is  necessarily  the  same  in  every 
age,  its  superstructure  must  be  modified  and  adapted 
to  the  actual  wants,  the  peculiarities,  the  special  imper- 
fections, the  spiritual  cravings  of  the  time  in  which  it 
has  pleased  God  to  call  them  to  work. 

"  The  Gospel  we  preach  in  the  nineteenth  century  is 
the  same  as  that  of  the  third,  or  the  twelfth,"  it  has  been 
well  said;  "but  it  cannot  be  preached  in  the  same 
manner;  and  an  Italian  and  an  English  sermon, 
although  preached  on  one  subject  and  in  time  contem- 
poraneous, will  of  necessity  differ  in  method  of  compo- 
sition, in  style,  in  manner  of  delivery."1  The  same  may 
be  said  of  other  parts  of  a  priest's  work.  Probably  there 
is  not  so  much  difference  now  in  good  earnest  preach- 
ing as  there  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  Oratory,  when 
a  laboured  bombastic  style,  overflowing  with  classical 
quotations  and  allusions,  with  conceits  and  quips  of 
all  kinds,  prevailed  so  largely.  S.  Francis  de  Sales 
was  one  of  the  foremost  to  make  a  move  in  this  direc- 
tion, and  he  has  told  us  how  his  father  used  to  lament 
over  the  simplicity  of  his  sermons :  "  In  my  time  it 
was  very  different;  sermons  were  much  rarer,  but 
goodness  knows  what  real  preachments  they  were  !  so 
studied,  so  learned !  more  Latin  and  Greek  in  one 
than  you  stick  into  a  dozen  !"2 

1  L'Oratoire  Moderne,  P.  Perraud,  p.  423. 
8  Spirit  of  S.  Francis  de  Sales,  p.  328. 


316  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Cardinal  de  Bdrulle  put  forward  very  earnestly  be- 
fore the  men  whom  he  had  trained  for  their  priestly 
functions,  that  there  could  be  no  good  or  profitable 
preaching  without  much  preparatory  prayer,  above  all 
else,  and  he  urged  them  to  make  the  subjects  on 
which  they  were  about  to  preach  part  of  their  daily 
meditation.  Next  to  this  he  insisted  upon  constant 
study  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church,  as  models  of  simplicity  and  dignity  of  style. 
One  of  his  Congregation,  whose  experience  was  great, 
wrote  a  book  of  counsels  to  preachers,1  which  in 
many  respects  are  as  applicable  to  the  present  day  as 
to  his  own. 

"  My  first  counsel  if  you  want  to  preach  well "  (he 
says)  "  is  to  pray  well :  my  second  to  pray  well :  my 
third,  fourth,  and  tenth  is  still  pray  much  to  God. 
Have  but  one  aim  in  your  sermons — God's  Glory 
and  the  salvation  of  souls.  Read  Holy  Scripture 
again  and  again  diligently.  Your  calling  in  the 
pulpit  is  solely  to  preach  God's  Word,  as  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  Whose  deputed  officer  you  are,  would 
do ; — therefore  all  mere  secular  imagery  and  profane 
science  must  be  banished.  One  single  passage  from 
the  Holy  Bible  has  more  weight  with  Christian  minds 
than  a  hundred  human  reasonings, — do  not  fear  to 
preach  it  '  pure  and  undefiled.'  If  you  need  anything 
1  Avis  aux  Jeunes  Pr&licateurs,  P.  Le  J  eune. 


PRESENT  TIMES.  317 

more,  I  should  say  read  chiefly  S.  Augustine,  S.  Chry- 
sostom,  the  Summa  of  S.  Thomas,  and  the  Lives  of 
the  Saints.  When  you  are  writing  a  sermon,  always 
consider  how  far  it  is  calculated  to  be  useful  to  a 
mechanic,  or  a  servant  girl;  but  above  all,  aim  at 
making  it  what  no  one  can  hear  without  some  profit ; 
— it  may  be  that  among  those  who  hear  you  there  will 
be  some  one  person  who  will  hear  no  other  sermon  in 
the  whole  year  than  yours,  and  who  may  be  converted 
if  you  speak  to  his  heart.  Eloquence  and  studied 
emphasis  may  help  to  persuade  men,  but  I  cannot 
recommend  you  to  use  well-rounded  periods  and 
artificial  points.  That  is  not  the  way  in  which  the 
Son  of  God  preached.  If  you  have  to  speak  against 
heresy,  let  it  be  done  with  respect,  compassion,  ten- 
derness and  love;  conceding  all  that  you  possibly 
can  concede,  consistently  with  truth.  Above  all, 
abstain  from  reproach,  invective,  or  contemptuous 
words." 

The  Oratorians  continued  to  inculcate  simplicity 
and  a  devotional,  loving  tone  as  the  real  way  to  make 
preaching  profitable.  Another  book  on  the  subject, 
attributed  for  a  time  to  Massillon  (himself  an  Ora- 
torian),  but  acknowledged  afterwards  as  the  work  of 
Pere  Gaichiez,  gives  some  very  earnest  practical  in- 
structions to  the  Clergy  :— 

"  The  chief  study  of  every  preacher  should  be  the 


3i8  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

Bible,"  he  says.1  "  He  must  seek  to  understand  it 
by  the  help  of  prayer,  and  to  live  up  to  its  teaching  in 
his  daily  course.  He  must  meditate  continually  on 
it,  seek  light  as  to  its  mysteries,  learn  it  by  heart,  be- 
come thoroughly  familiar  with  its  language,  and  mould 
his  own  upon  its  expressions.  S.  Chrysostom,  S. 
Augustine,  S.  Gregory,  and  S.  Bernard  are  the  great 
models  for  preachers,  and  one  should  never  cease 
drawing  water  from  these  wells.  A  mere  rhetorician 
or  sophist  may  preach  his  own  imaginations,  but  a 
true  preacher  will  prefer  to  use  the  thoughts  of  the 
Fathers.  Religion  is  not  a  new  thing  he  has  to  make, 
— he  has  received  it,  and  he  deals  out  to  other  men 
that  which  he  has  received. 

"  It  is  not  enough  that  a  preacher  be  merely  a  worthy 
man,  he  must  be  a  devout  man — it  is  earnestness 
which  teaches  most  to  those  that  hear.  That  springs 
from  an  inner  appreciation  of  the  things  of  God ;  but 
a  dry  cold  heart  will  give  out  nought  save  lifeless, 
powerless  words.  If  possible  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  never  to  write  sermons  except  in  those  happy 
moments  when,  after  prayerful  study,  a  man's  heart 
is  full  of  glowing  warmth.  Then  all  his  expressions 
flow  from  a  sanctified  source,  and  God  uses  such  de- 
vout workers  to  grave  His  law  upon  men's  hearts, — 
an  unsanctified  hand  will  not  impress  His  true  im- 

'  Maximes  sur  le  Minist&re  de  la  Clmire. 


PRESENT  TIMES.  319 

pressions.  There  is  no  better  means  of  cultivating 
talent,  however  great,  than  by  prayer.  The  Fathers 
of  the  Church,  heavily  burdened  as  they  were  with 
responsible  offices,  prayed  much  and  preached  often. 

"  Living  apart  from  the  world  in  retirement,  learning 
detachment  from  self  through  hunrility  and  mortifica- 
tion, uplifted  by  prayer  and  contemplation,  a  true 
preacher  finds  his  chief  delight  in  studying  and 
practising  God's  Word.  At  the  altar  he  pleads  the 
interests  of  his  people  before  God,  that  he  may  the 
better  plead  God's  interests  with  the  people  in  the 
jmlpit.  He  is  as  the  angels  of  Jacob's  dream  keeping 
up  a  mysterious  intercourse  between  heaven  and  earth. 
He  clasps  the  Cross  to  his  inmost  heart,  ready  if  need 
be  to  bear  outward  witness  to  it,  even  to  the  death. 

"  Above  all  else,  the  preacher's  duty  is  to  make  men 
know  and  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Therein  lies 
the  whole  of  our  life's  religion, — all  things  depend  on 
our  One  Mediator.  In  preaching  sometimes  men 
dwell  largely  on  God  the  Creator,  His  Providence, 
His  Goodness,  His  Justice,  while  they  do  not  give 
sufficient  prominence  to  God  our  Redeemer.  .... 

"It  is  presumption  to  suppose  thatyou  canbe  listened 
to  for  more  than  an  ordinary  length  of  time,  without 
wearying  your  hearers.  They  have  a  certain  stock  of 
patience,  and  beyond  that  you  should  not  try  them. 
A  full  vessel  can  hold  no  more,  and  if  you  persist  in 


320  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

pouring  in,  it  only  causes  waste.  Men  go  away  from 
an  overlong  sermon  with  the  same  sort  of  weariness 
and  discomfort  as  is  caused  by  a  bad  dream.  It  is 
always  better  to  cut  down  rather  than  add  to  a 
sermon ;  and  your  constant  aim  should  be  brevity. 
True  eloquence  depends  far  more  on  the  high  tone 
than  on  the  cleverness  of  your  thoughts,  and  a  noble 
soul  is  a  better  source  of  inspiration  than  a  sharp 
wit 

"  The  best  tribute  to  a  sermon  is  thoughtful  silence 
on  the  part  of  your  hearers  when  they  are  dismissed. 
He  who  would  move  others  must  himself  be  moved. 
The  burning  wood  which  warms  us  is  consumed  it- 
self. That  which  is  false  or  unreal  can  never  be  truly 
touching.  Thus  imagination  does  not  speak  with  a 
heartfelt  tone.  ...  It  beseems  the  dignity  of  the  pul- 
pit to  speak  with  purity,  precision,  elevation.  That 
which  has  been  well  thought  out  should  be  happily 
expressed.  An  ill  set  diamond  loses  half  its  beauty. 
But  a  wise  preacher  cuts  off  all  embellishment  which 
interferes  with  his  true  aim.  Our  husbandmen  root  up 
the  flowers  which  spring  amid  the  corn,  for  they 
damage  the  harvest  in  spite  of  their  beauty ;  and  the 
gardener  prunes  away  the  over-abundant  leafage,  which 
would  hinder  his  fruit  from  ripening.  .  .  . 

"  There  is  a  certain  seemliness  of  style  as  well  as  of 
manner  and  appearance.  It  is  expected  of  a  preacher 


PRESENT  TIMES.  321 

that  he  should  speak  as  a  man  of  God.  A  sermon  is 
not  mere  conversation  or  club  oratory ;  when  you 
preach  you  speak  TO  the  people,  and  OF  God.  Do 
not  venture  upon  newly-coined  words,  or  indulge  in  a 
fantastically  antiquated  diction.  Your  speech  should 
be  like  your  life,  modest,  pure,  single-hearted  :  simple 
enough  to  be  understood  by  all,  without  failing  in 
dignity.  Of  old,  all  Grecian  orators  were  prone  to 
quote  Homeric  expressions.  Homer  was  the  type  of 
Greek  eloquence ;  and  even  so  a  Christian  preacher 
should  mould  his  words  as  well  as  his  thoughts  upon 
Holy  Scripture,  so  as  to  give  a  dignified  and  reverent 
tone  to  his  style.  God's  ambassador  ought  to  speak 
the  language  of  God 

"  It  is  not  the  applause  of  men,  not  even  the 
success  of  a  sermon,  which  makes  the  preacher 
acceptable  to  God  :  it  is  his  own  earnest  labour 
joined  to  a  humble  estimate  of  his  own  talent  and 
poweV' 

Bossuet's  biographers  tell  us  that  that  great  preacher 
never  went  into  the  pulpit  without  having  knelt  in  the 
deepest  self-humiliation  before  his  crucifix,  seeking 
the  light  of  God's  Holy  Spirit ;  and  marvellous  as  were 
his  facility  and  eloquence,  he  was  singularly  devoid  of 
self-confidence,  resting  solely  on  the  strength  and  in- 
spiration to  be  won  through  prayer  and  study  of  Holy 
Scripture.  Surely  such  had  need  be  the  habit  of  mind 
x 


322  PRIESTLY  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

and  practice  of  preachers  in  our  times  as  much  as  in  the 
seventeenth  or  eighteenth  century ;  and  there  is  great 
truth  in  what  a  living  author  says  :  "Simplicity,  warmth, 
earnestness — these  ought  to  be  now,  if  ever,  the 
characteristics  of  our  apostolic  preaching.  Of  late  par- 
liamentary debates  have  accustomed  men  to  require 
close  reasoning  and  conclusive  evidence.  They  want 
to  go  straight  to  facts,  and  are  impatient  of  the  lengthy 
involutions  which  were  the  glory  of  bygone  rheto- 
ricians. Now-a-days  neither  speaker  or  hearers  have 
leisure  to  linger  thus  on  the  threshold  of  a  subject. 
Every  one  is  speeding  on,  all  around  us  is  haste,  and 
if  we  have  the  opportunity  of  commanding  men's 
attention  for  a  few  brief  moments  amid  their  bewilder- 
ing preoccupations,  we  owe  it  to  their  immortal  souls 
and  to  our  own  ministry  not  to  waste  those  scarce  and 
precious  seasons.  Simplicity,  precision,  clearness,  a 
distinct  and  lucid  setting  forth  of  doctrine, — holding  in 
horror  all  mere  phraseology,  all  empty  rhetoric, — such 
should  be  the  main  features  in  our  earthly  rendering  of 
our  Divine  message.  But  we  must  combine  strength 
with  our  other  qualities,  and  that  because  in  these 
days  perhaps  there  is  no  greater  hindrance  to  the 
Kingdom  of  God  than  the  weakness  and  slackness  of 
convictions  which  we  find  everywhere.  And  this 
strength  is  only  to  be  won  by  continual  meditation  on 
Holy  Scripture  :  there  it  is  that  we  can  gather  up 


PRESENT  TIMES.  323 

God's  own  strength.     '  Ibi  abscondita  est  fortitude  efus ' ' 
(Hab.  iii.  5)." 

And  assuredly,  too,  there  is  no  less  need  now  than 
in  the  days  of  S.  Philip  Neri,  of  S.  Vincent  de  Paul, 
or  of  M.  Olier,  to  gather  together  the  young  men  of 
all  classes  and  destinations,  whose  lot  is  for  the  most 
part  cast  among  manifold  temptations,  different  it  may 
be  in  kind,  but  no  less  perilous  than  those  which  beset 
their  forerunners  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies. If  our  Clergy  are  to  gather  in  souls  for  the  Great 
Harvest,  must  they  not  strive  to  gather  our  young  men 
and  boys  around  them,  to  attract  them  by  higher  and 
more  intellectual  pleasures  from  the  grosser  forms  of 
self-indulgence,  to  supply  them  with  social  enjoyments 
free  from  debasing  influences,  to  direct  and  share 
their  reading  and  inquiry,  to  watch  over  their  faith, 
and  to  arm  them  against  the  delusions  of  rationalistic 
self-conceit  and  "  vain  science  falsely  so  called." 
Truly  these  are  not  the  days  for  the  pastors  of  the 
flock  to  sit  down  satisfied  with  looking  at  any  one  side 
of  their  vast  and  endless  task  !  But  if  our  Clergy  are 
to  be  ready  to  cope  with  the  learned  unbeliever  and 
the  scientific  rationalist,  surely  we  need  that  some 
among  them  should  be  able,  by  means  of  Religious 
Communities  and  Brotherhoods,  to  give  themselves  up 
to  deeper  and  more  scientific  study  than  the  parish 
1  L'Oratoire  Moderne,  p.  434. 


324  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

priest,  once  launched  upon  the  endless  and  necessary 
cares  of  his  flock,  can  possibly  seek.  "  Formerly  " 
(so  wrote  the  present  Archbishop  of  Paris,  Mgr. 
Guibert,  then  Bishop  of  Viviers)  "  the  most  learned 
men  of  the  day  were  found  among  the  Clergy ;  men 
whose  daily  occupations  admitted  of  profound  study, 
or  who,  members  of  religious  corporations,  were  able 
to  give  themselves  up  to  literary  work,  which  was 
made  easy  to  them  by  the  treasures  they  possessed  in 
their  libraries  and  scientific  collections.  But  where 
shall  we  find  priests  now  who  do  or  can  give  their 
lives  to  this  department  of  God's  service?** 

Modern  science  aims  above  all  things  at  getting  rid 
of  the  supernatural,  and,  as  a  modern  writer  says,  "we 
must  develop  an  altogether  new  system  of  intellectual 
perceptions." '  In  order  to  meet  this  need,  the  French 
Clergy  have  been  urged  by  their  rulers  to  extend  the 
range  of  their  studies,  and  to  prepare  themselves  to 
grapple  with  the  foe  on  his  own  ground.  The  Council 
of  Paris  in  1849  pressed  strongly  on  the  Clergy  that 
nothing  could  be  more  fatal  to  their  right  influence 
than  ignorance  or  incapacity  to  deal  with  general 
subjects. 

"  It  is  an  absolutely  indispensable  necessity,"  so 
writes  Balme's,  "for  the  Clergy  to  be  educated  up  to 
the  level  of  their  times,  so  as  not  to  permit  error  to 
*  M.  Littre. 


PRESENT  TIMES.  325 

wield  weapons  which  are  wanting  to  truth.  We  can- 
not press  the  importance  of  this  duty  too  earnestly  on 
the  ministers  of  religion.  Let  them  indeed  live  a  life 
apart  from  the  world  in  its  purity  and  simplicity, — 
but  let  them  beware  of  living  apart  from  the  in- 
tellectual movement  going  on  around  them;  let  them 
grasp  firm  hold  of  the  truth  that  there  is  no  antagonism 
between  an  enlightened  intelligence  and  an  upright 
heart;  that  science  is  not  the  enemy  of  virtue,  and 
that  the  Clergy  may  keep  their  eyes  fully  open  to  the 
intellectual  progress  of  the  times  without  sullying 
themselves  with  the  corruption  which  too  often  besets 
that  progress. 

"  The  man  whose  office  it  is  to  teach  the  weightiest  of 
all  truths  to  others  ought  not  to  be  estranged  from 
any  form  of  knowledge.  As  it  behoves  him  to  be  the 
example  of  all  personal  goodness  in  his  moral  life, 
so  ought  he  to  wield  the  sceptre  of  intelligence." * 

S.  Francis  de  Sales  used  to  say  that  ignorance  was 
almost  as  bad  as  malice  in  a  priest,  and  that  know- 
ledge was  a  kind  of  eighth  sacrament  of  the  Church. 

"  They  are  really  righteous,"  says  S.  Gregory,  "  who 
are  furnished  forth  by  the  love  of  the  Country  above  to 
meet  all  the  ills  of  the  present  life ; " a  and  it  is  in  that 
Country  only  that  we  may  dare  to  hope  for  an  end  to 

1  Melanges  Religieux  et  Philosophiques. 
3  Morals,  bk.  v.  xvii. 


326  PRIESTL  Y  LIFE  IN  FRANCE. 

the  Church's  woes  and  struggles.  In  our  time,  as  in 
the  times  of  the  holy  men  gone  before  us,  we  need  to 
raise  the  cry — 

"  Our  foes  press  on  from  every  side, 
Thine  Aid  supply,  Thy  Strength  bestow  ;  " 

and  with  them  to  pray, — 

"  To  Thy  Great  Name  be  endless  praiv. 

Immortal  Godhead,  One  in  Three  ! 
O  grant  us  endless  length  of  days 
In  our  true  Native  Land  with  Thee. 
Amen." 

The  bright  shining  lights  set  before  us  by  the  Father 
of  us  all,  "  lest  we  should  faint  or  stray,"  are  doubtless 
now  pleading  for  the  Church  before  His  Face,  as  once 
Ihey  prayed  and  toiled  for  it  here ;  and  gladdened  by 
the  thought,  let  us  dwell  lovingly  and  thankfully  on 
their  examples,  and  say,  in  the  words  of  the  All  Saints' 

Hymn, — 

"Exules 
VocatenosinPATRlA." 


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